Christmas in October.
Moped Santa – in a hurry again this year.
So last week I was in a department store in the city, and couldn’t help but notice the amount of Christmas items on display; tinsel, baubles, Christmas themed chocolates and trees. This week I was staring out of the window of the bus on the way home and I noticed many a Christmas decorated lamp post and stobie pole. You know, where the city streets suddenly become covered in tinsel, fake mistletoe and over sized baubles, stars and reindeer? And then I thought to myself, it’s only October!
I often overhear people saying that Christmas keeps coming earlier, every year. But I think Christmas has arrived this early for as long as I remember. The stores want to sell as much Christmas paraphernalia as they can, and putting up street decorations earlier might draw attention away from problems such as graffiti, lack of bus shelters and uneven footpaths. You might even call this a win/win situation.
But throughout this entire lead up to ‘Commercialmas’ we see and hear little of the ‘true meaning of Christmas’, the birth of Jesus Christ. This is not surprising given the changing nature of Australian society. According to the 2006 Census, only 64 per cent of Australians consider themselves to be Christian. This is a significant drop from the first national census in 1901 where 96 per cent of the then population said they were Christian. Of course, the growing influence of ‘Jedi’ as a religious movement in Australia can surely take some of the blame (see this media release).
Whether we are celebrating commercialism, or the birth of a religious figure, Christmas is a time to celebrate the end of the year with family and friends. If shops want to put certain items on sale, and if councils want to put up decorations earlier, what does it matter? If you don’t like it, don’t buy the stuff, or go and live in a communist country! Happy Commercialmas everbody! : )
Vreemdst said,
October 16, 2008 at 7:22 pm
The decorations are not fresh or exciting. Christmas comes too often to be treasured – and unlike birthdays and new year’s, it goes forever. It’s a mild pain.
Back when I watched television, I hated how all new or interesting programs were retired in favour of the same specials which had screened for the last twelve years.
We also hear too much of “the true meaning of Christmas” – I’m sick of that too. There is no more merit in celebrating Jesus than the consumerist frenzy.
Ideally it would be a period of friendship and rest with limited expectations – like Australia Day, perhaps.
Celebrating the end of the year happens at New Year’s Eve. Getting together with friends thankfully happens throughout the year – and in my instance, not at all during Christmas. I see my family many times a year, but Christmas means that they will drag me to abominable parties with their friends who seem unaware of the atrocities they commit with the karaoke machine.
Yes, the fall in nominal Christianity is a rise in Australianism – abject apathy. It’s not a triumph of reason and science – it’s a combination of our national laziness and growing awareness of the queerness of some of these superstitions.
Meanwhile, the Census does not ask whether we cling to other medieval hangers-on like zodiacs or capitalist cults which don’t claim to be religions like The Secret.