Am I the black sheep this year I’m not following the crowd at Christmas, I’m bucking the trend of commercialism.
As a child I counted down the days til Christmas it was so exciting; not just because we got a few Christmas presents but because we had school holidays and best of all dad had a whole four weeks off work and we as a family all packed up the old Vauxhall car and headed off on the long three hour journey to the beach for a whole month on a family holiday.
We lived in our swimsuits and shorts and sandals like beachcombers for the whole month in a big old green canvas tent. We didn’t have any mod-cons or flash state of the art gizmo’s. We slept on fold out camp beds and cooked on a little gas stove and ate fresh shell fish we found each day and it was like heaven.
Come rain, hail or shine we swam everyday. Our hair was bleached that surfy straw colour by the sun and we had the best olive tans you could possibly imagine.
Christmas day we all sat around and unwrapped our Christmas gifts, nothing flash or fancy just simple thoughtful low cost gifts. We weren’t financially wealthy but as a family we were happy and healthy and Christmas to us meant being together and enjoying each others company for a whole month.
December 25th traditionally is a western celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, not the commercial venture it now is. That is why this year our Christmas will be celebrated with a family get together on boxing day with no gifts, only good home cooked food, a barbeque and hopefully some sunshine whilst we enjoy the company of each other in remembering the reason for the season.
I’m a thinker and I am still bemused as to why non-believers choose to celebrate a Christian event, of course it can’t be a bad thing but it’s not all about money and commercialism.
If you really want to give gifts which is a kind and thoughtful gesture why not make something, don’t put yourself in debt for the year of 2012 trying to pay off gifts you couldn’t afford in 2011.
In remembering the reason for the season may you all be happy healthy and blessed. Xx
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
To me Christmas is about family and I agree with you, I don’t like the commercialism. I ahven’t decided what to make for family yet but I’m thinking about hampers full of christmassey cherry jam and other homemade goodies.
I come from a Christian family so that part of Christmas is very special to me – carols, midnight mass or the equivalent really puts me in the Christmas spirit. The other side I really hate: Christmas decorations in shops in October, bad Christmas music in shops, and the thought that people financially ruin themselves for some misguided expectation that they have to spend heaps of money to make Christmas meaningful. In my family we all draw one name out of hat and we have a NZ$10-20 limit which makes it really fun and creative. Often presents are second-hand or homemade and we all watch while one person opens a present at a time. Half the fun is trying to guess who bought what! Black sheep unite for Christmas!
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Hi Sandra, love your web site, is making Debbie n myself laugh alot, she is rememnicing along the memorys of growing up also…she just said ür dad used to call u the little blackie..u look dark in ur pic..
We also think Christmas has lost its meaning and for myself its about sharing n caring and giving something of urself rather than a gift..maybe saying merry xmas to someone who has no family around, means alot ..anyway we are looking for pics of Adrian”‘ Wedding..take care and keep up the good sewing..maybe send a pair of floral flares for xmas as we gonna grow long hair n become hippies with our dogs n 1 cat…