When I was six, I remember every Easter being a large event in which we all wore our best clothing and went to church, followed by a wonderful Easter dinner. Thanksgiving was a time to eat turkey and spend time with family; everyone would drive to my grandmother’s house and take part in assisting her with cooking and conversation. Christmas was a time to bring gifts over and once again eat with family and have a wonderful time. However, it seems that modern times have cost us our traditional love of holidays.

Now, holidays have become a yearly sale for merchants. Easter brings eggs and rabbit window placements with pastel trimmings, Halloween brings ghosts and pumpkin window displays, Thanksgiving (if not ignored) brings turkeys, and Christmas brings sales galore and Santa Claus up the wazoo. The holidays are no longer about family and togetherness. They are about a schedule, advertisements, taking as much money as possible, and plain greed.

Suddenly I and many others find ourselves losing enjoyment in days that were once fulfilling, and endless ads running on TV advertising Black Friday, the new Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. In our consumer culture, these have become the real holidays. No more riding in the wee hours to arrive on-time at a large get-together at Grandma’s; people would rather wait ten hours in front of a store for 30% off of a piece of merchandise.

I decided to work today, but many people took off and are most likely among the pushing and shoving inside malls thanks to the INSANELY LOW PRICING and NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN DEALS!

I may or may not indulge in Cyber Monday, as the only thing I really want to buy is a Roku Box XDS and some cosplay items (and an iMac and a new MacBook battery and CS5 Design Premium, but that’s beside the point).  I’d rather not get sucked into the mass consumer-whoring and sheepdom that our society has succumbed to.  Our TV shows are cut into 5-minute intervals so that ads can run, for God’s sake (my wanting the XDS is now validated)!  Our trains are washed in ads, and at least half of my friends are in stores possibly getting trampled.

There’s no real conclusion to this entry, all I have is a simple statement.  Open your eyes, people, and get back to the basics.  Your grandparents probably wouldn’t mind seeing you at the dinner table again.

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