I'm headed to Southern California to a Time Share resort with my family later on this week. The interesting thing about this is that my grandparents (on my mother's side) do not celebrate Christmas at all. I remember being a young child and asking my grandfather, "Why don't you celebrate Christmas!?" He would answer, "Why would you open gifts on someone else's birthday?" It did not make complete sense to me until the past few years.
Isn't it completely logical that Christmas is more of an economic holiday than it is a religious one? People say they celebrate this day as the birth of Jesus Christ, but they continue to buy extravagant gifts that they can not truly afford to show their "love" for the recipient of the gifts. Buying children these hundred dollar video game systems that they will only play until March just does not seem logical to me at all. It's interesting how the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft's XBox 360 cost more than most people's monthly car payments. You save up a tremendous amount of money from months past to make sure that little Billy and Sarah have a great Christmas on material bumkum that won't hold their attention even until the forthcoming Summer.
Maybe buying your loved ones something that will actually stimulate their minds rather than annul their minds such as novels is a better purchase than a set of pearls or a toy that will be lost and forgotten. Buying that gift item that will lose its luster after many years is not always the greatest investment you would want to make. So, this Christmas, buy your loved one a book or a musical instrument rather than something that will hurt you financially. An investment for your well-being is a much greater gift than jewelry or a toy. Happy Holidays!
