When did the ‘spiritual’ Folk Tradition give way to the
‘ X days of Shopping Left till Christmas?’
Festive winter feasting predates Christianity.
It was a Public Outdoor occasion of Seasonal Revelry..
The Puritans were ‘hell-bent’ on stopping it.
As a result in 17th cent. Massachusetts,
street ‘Christmas’ celebration was illegal.
A quiet, stay at home Christmas was encouraged.
A major shift came about when
Christmas became a Domestic Occasion.
No more…. eat drink and be merry… festive
street pandemonium.
Enter COMMERCIALISM.
Advertisements for Christmas presents
followed in 1820’s….by the 1840’s this
was endorsed by the strange concept
of Santa ( female as in Santa Maria)
Clause, sporting a patriarchal beard.
1867: Macys in NY stayed open till midnight
on Christmas Eve.
1867: Dickens read A Christmas Carol to
thousands in Boston. The book is more about
the theme of gifting, at this time of year…
than the Story of Jesus.
It became compulsory that everyone gives
something to somebody…to avoid being a
shamed citizen.
In 1939 Rudolf the sing-along Red Nosed Reindeer
was invented by Robert L. May as a
sales tool for the Montgomery Ward Stores.
Rudolf is actually a Female Deer. Males lose their horns
in Winter. (Silly R.L.May)
Rudolf does not come to announce the Birth of Jesus.
S/He comes with a sleigh, laden with gifts; the bearded
girth of plenty at the reins. Jingle Bells!
In the mid 19th cent. author Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote,
‘ There are worlds of money wasted at this time of year by
the getting of things nobody wants….’
What would she thing of today’s Western ‘civilisation’ ?
Not only the driven consumerism…but the damage
caused by our wasteful ways.
Excessive use of shop lighting, tinsel, wrapping, christmas crackers
plastic toys…etc - most, if not all of it, eco unfriendly,
And then….there’s the patronising indulgent sentimentality…
‘Do THEY know it’s Christmas?’ Whaaat? KB. 27th Dec. 2019
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