The Ghost of Christmas Present :: Essays Papers

The Ghost of saviourmas PresentChristmas has consumed itself. At its conception, it was a o.k. idea, and I imagine that at nonpareil foreshadow its execution worked actually much as it was intended to. These days, however, its meaning has been perverted its true economic consumption ignored and replaced with a purpose imagined by those who merely go by the motions, without actually knowing why they do so. Christmas was originally supposed to be a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. Modern historians suggest that Christ was actually born sometime in April, but that is hardly the point the point is that a day on which to celebrate his birth and life-time was needed, and so one was chosen. During the season surrounding this holiday -- especially since it coincided with that of other, confusable holidays -- it was thought right to honor Jesus by acting as he did, i.e., in a kind, generous, and for expectant manner. Out of this sprung the custom of giving collapses to l ove ones on this holiday. However, as may be expected from our ultramodern society, the custom of giving gifts quickly turned into the practice of exchanging them. If one moderates gifts to loved ones at Christmas, the reasoning goes, then those who do not receive gifts from a person are obviously not loved by him/her. So each individual now is required to give a gift to all of his/her friends, or risk communicating to them that s/he no longer loves them -- or perhaps never did Also, there arises another trouble when someone gets a gift from a person to whom they did not give one. The logic here is that the one who gave the gift obviously has a great love for or places a greater value on the companionship than the one who did not. A decidedly awkward situation arises from this, one jakes imagine. Gift-giving nowadays is no longer an act of kindness, but rather a political measure, taken to ensure ones status with ones acquaintances. While the general feeling of goodwill toward s men gloss over pervades the season, albeit filtered through television and municipal decorating projects, there is a great tightness that precedes the actual Christmas holiday itself. I remember Christmases of my youth as pleasurable times, to be sure, but also as times when it was best to perch clear of my mother, who was inevitably in