Unchained in America

It’s almost Christmas and Dan and I have NOT succumbed to the shopping frenzy. But that’s really not new this year for us – we have never indulged in the Christmas shopping frenzy that has taken over America. We have always exchanged a few Christmas gifts depending on our economic status of the time, which usually isn’t much since I work in the non-profit world!

And last night as we were talking about exchanging presents we asked each other what we’d given each other last year. We couldn’t remember! Can you remember what you gave as a Christmas gift to your spouse or family members or received from them last year? Chances are the answer is no, and your unremembered gift is languishing in a corner somewhere. Or perhaps you returned it to get something else.

This year, since we are shopping unchained, my whole take on Christmas has altered even further as I continue to think more deeply about the meaning of Christmas.

While we were in Cape Cod before Thanksgiving, Dan purchased a nice $25 blouse for me from a very cool gift store in Dennis, The Barn & Co. He’s promised to buy me a few of my favorite mystery books at the used book store in Chattanooga, McKay Used Books. And other then that there might be a few stocking stuffers that I don’t know about.

For him, I’m knitting a scarf (half way through – yikes!) in a wonderful yarn he picked out. And I have a few small surprises I can’t divulge as he will be reading this post. Total spent by each of us – well under $100 each.

So here’s the thing I was thinking about on the way home from work yesterday – and stick with me even if you aren’t into the whole Jesus thing. Because even if you’re not, let’s face it, Christmas is supposed to be about the joy of giving to those you love — in the spirit of Jesus or whatever spiritual tradition you believe in.

Ok – let’s review what Jesus got for Christmas (at his birth). Three Wise Men show up with three gifts. Not, thirty mind you. Just three. So how is it suddenly we feel as Americans that we need to give each other (mainly our kids) so many gifts? Well, of course that’s where the mass media comes in telling us we MUST have those gifts or we are not cool, hip, in, or happy.

Maybe we should reconsider and go back to the original idea of giving three gifts?

Now these gifts were pretty expensive items for the time: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrr. They were nothing to sneeze at. But here’s the thing. Whatever happens to those gifts? I racked my brain, but I never read about these three gifts again in the Bible. And I’m pretty sure Mary and Joseph raised Jesus as a normal son of a carpenter with no special privileges of wealth.

So what DID Mary and Joseph do with those gifts?

You don’t hear about Joseph’s cashing them in so Mary can get a big diamond ring to show off back in Nazareth to hush up the gossiping neighbors about her early pregnancy. You don’t hear about a vacation beach-side condo so they can get away when the carpentry business gets to be too stressful. Nor do you hear about a college fund for baby Jesus so when he grows up he can better himself.

My guess? Mary and Joseph being good, devout Jews, sold the goods and give the proceeds to charity to thank God for the gift of their son.

Mmmmmm – giving donations to others in need during Christmas? Cool idea — and one I am going to follow this year!

Here’s some suggestions in case you might need them:

• Your local homeless shelter.
• Your local no-kill animal shelter.
• Your local soup kitchen.
• Your local food bank.
• Your local museum or cultural organization. (My favorite place to donate to!)

It is truly wonderful to share your love by giving a gift to someone during the holidays. But I think it’s time we thought about why we give gifts, how we give gifts, and where we purchase the gifts. I hope you bought at least some of your gifts at independent stores this season!

And I hope you and your family have a wonderful holidays – no matter what tradition you celebrate!

Tags: buy local, Christmas, independent stores, shopping

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 5:12 am and is filed under Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.