Is Christmas a Ho-Ho-Hoax?

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? NO?!?! Well, hurry to the stores now before it’s too late!

When did Christmas become centered on buying and receiving gifts? When did a holiday meant to be spent celebrating with the company of family turn into such a commercial event?

Society has changed this religious holiday into a man-made, commercialized holiday that gives greedy corporations and businesses an opportunity to take advantage of innocent, yet gullible consumers.  As the holidays roll around, retailers use this opportunity to tempt consumers with Christmas sales and deals, pressure them into buying countless Christmas services and items, and guilt-trip and shame those who have not completed their burdensome Christmas shopping list.

The practice of buying and receiving presents gradually seems to be required of everyone during the holidays. The only way to measure a person love and care for another loved one is through the quantity or quality of their gift(s).

Even Christmas’s mascot, good ‘ol Saint Nick, is gradually becoming a symbol of commercialism. Countless businesses take advantage of this jolly mythical character and offer ridiculous services under his name. Get a phone call from Santa for $20, or go old school and get a handwritten letter from the jolly fellow for the same price. However, take precaution because you might be paying more than you think for some of these services. Christmas is a perfect time for scams; therefore if you happen to get caught, these scammers will be running away with your money and your credit card information.

However, don’t dump all the blame onto these shady businesses. The only reason why their scams work is partly because of parents’ desperate attempt to entertain their children’s already wild imagination with the myth of Santa Claus. Almost all parents believe that these are “harmless white lies” that will preserve their child naiveté and innocence. However, what will happen when the child finds out the truth? What happens when your innocent children decide to take initiative and dial 911 in search of dear ‘ol Santa Claus? Your relationship initially built on mutual trust will be in jeopardy, and you will be forced to explain to your betrayed, teary-eyed child why mommy and daddy felt the need to lie.

With each passing year, the Christmas holidays are drifting farther and farther away from its traditional roots of religious celebration amongst close family and friends and moving closer and closer to becoming a “Hallmark Holiday”.