It’s not God. It’s not Jesus. It’s Money.
And that’s not a horrific thing. It’s an annoying thing if, like me, you dislike crowds and don’t particularly participate in Christmas.
But this is the season that feeds the Western Economy. Indeed, because of globalisation, it feeds the world economy. It’s the engine of spending that employs most of us in one way or another.
I find this idea that there is a war on Christmas amusing. The strongest power in the world is firmly entrenched in the idea of Christmas. The power of money. Christmas isn’t going anywhere.
Even today, most Christians have melded the holiness of the day with decorating, buying, cooking and commenting on people who say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.
But, sadly for those who still think it’s about religion, Money is all about leveraging for more money. And so it’s inclusive. It wants there to a gift giving Hanukkah and it wants Kwanza to be about gifts as well.
Mark my word – it wants Mawlid to be about gift giving too. Someone, somewhere is working on a way to change a festival for Mohammed’s Birthday into a retail bonanza. Christmas used to be a festival holiday too. Now it’s a season of shopping.
AND I bet if they pull it off, the division between Muslims who celebrate Mawlid and those who don’t will disappear. Because big business always trumps religion. ESPECIALLY if it can somehow leverage religion into it’s drumbeat.
100 years from now imagine the incredible booming economy that would exist if we could add in a gift exchange for 2 billion Muslims! Imagine if you gave it a nice unique set of colors and symbols that they would display each year, creating entire industries out of decorating for the holiday. Almost everyone benefits when the economy is booming.
It's a Thought 
It’s a catch 22. It is one of the best times to buy things because of the discounts and specials so it hooks in people like me, who do not buy presents, into buying stuff I need for myself. Stuff, if I would have bought in October, I would have paid more. I know it but as you say it’s about the money and I saved. Now for singing the Carols…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are good deals. 🙂 And since we happily live in the age of the internet, I no longer hate the holiday so much. I don’t have to actually go into the crowd!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes! People, ick!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hate to break it to my fellow Christians who want to put “Christ” back into Merry Christmas. He is heavily outgunned by sales machines. This is why I love Thanksgiving so much more, which is about fellowship.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right?! It’s about being together and sharing time with friends and family. But it doesn’t fuel the economy… And if it did I probably wouldn’t like it so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. Although I feel my eating expands at least my belt loops, with a small contribution to the economy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😄
LikeLike
Christmas as a holy day was totally overwhelmed by marketing hype ages ago already. Any pretense it had of being “holy” has been swamped by the need to make a buck any way possible. In 1904 Harper’s Bazar magazine was lamenting the way Christmas had been commercialized.
While I have a reputation of being a cynical old fart, I actually rather like Christmas, even with all of the hype and silliness that goes along with it. I look at it as a kind of temporary insanity that will be over in a couple of months, and while it’s going on it’s great fun to watch the inmates of the asylum… Oh, wait, that is pretty cynical, isn’t it? Oh, well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I’m definitely a cynic, but there are still things I like about it, in small doses and without crowds. And I’m not in favor of de-commercializing it because it is such a huge factor in the economy. Of course, I’m not religious. 🙂
LikeLike
My favorite part of Christmas is actually Christmas Eve. I make a ton of cookies and we go caroling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Activities are really the heart of it. Doing things with people you love. (or at least like a lot)
LikeLiked by 1 person
To me it’s a horrific thing that Christmas is about money. As a Christian, I think Jesus would be upset if he saw that his birthday celebration has turned into enriching ourselves and each other, instead of giving food to the hungry, donating to the poor, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I think donations are way up during the season. But the most supportive thing to everyone is a thriving economy, so ultimately Jesus is the reason that people can have the dignity of a job that supports them. (assuming they do.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Business always trumps religion” is something I agree with. It’s been proven time and time again. It trumps religion so much that even religious people will begin to defend their right to merge the two. Great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is weird how they have merged into a weirdly symbiotic thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person