No Traditions, No Values Good Morning! - Celebrating commonly known traditions such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc. has more and more turned into a commercialized Armageddon and a highly blown- up and totally sense- less cash- cow. Everybody sighs at the very early signs in chain stores like Walmart, Target, BJ's, Home Depot, etc. and is usually close to a mental melt down by the time we are all supposed to at least pretend that we are enjoying the climax of the occasion in question. Let me give you an example. Summer is officially over after Labor Day weekend at the beginning of September - at least here in the States. Almost as if created by magic overnight, just like that, we're now looking at Halloween decorations all over the place. Just amazing! So, now we are all getting prepared for a tradition which won't be celebrated until the very last day in October - 7 weeks away still. Once Halloween is history again, we'll get geared up for Christmas, again two months ahead. Then Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, ... - one tradition after another follows. Sure, why not if it helps boost the national economy, one might argue. Well, this is just the one side of the proverbial coin. The other side, which represents the religious and/ or spiritual aspects of those traditions, has been so badly neglected and starved that vacuum is eventually taking over instead. Just look at the people on the streets, in their cars, at shopping malls, etc. Don't they generally look more and more like zombies than lively and joyful folks? The impression I'm getting here is such that the more our old traditions are put on display for bulk sell- outs, the more of their true spirit is captured and ultimately destroyed. Kids are the main beneficiaries of this insane circus of commerce, but instead of seeing a clear perk- up due to this abundant gifting trend, we are witnessing just the opposite which is actually nothing but a disgusted and over- stuffed attitude of increasing indifference. This strongly reminds me of being so incredibly overfed that every movement about you appears robotic. Paradoxically, the more we try to fish in this vast pool of material abundance, the more we starve ourselves as far as the true values in life.
Why is this? Well, this is because the traditions themselves have been deprived of their original meanings and messages. I remember as kids we could not wait for Christmas Eve to finally come, as this was a highlight that came with a package deal. Sure, we were looking forward to being handed our presents, but without all the other facets the celebration itself would have become a forgettable one. I still recall quite a few absolutely memorable Christmas Eves with my parents and grandmother, and my sister and I, we loved every minute of it every year again! We would wait for the chime of the tiny Christmas bell indicating that the Christ Child had just left our house.
Finally, we could enter the living room, and BAM there it was, our Christmas tree as beautiful as could be! Of course, we lay eyes on all the neatly wrapped gifts spread all over the room, but before unpacking them, we would sing numerous Christmas songs with my dad playing the organ. Only then we were taken off the leash, so to speak, and could indulge our presents. Later we would eat traditional foods, talk and laugh a lot. That was Christmas back then. Today you buy gadgets and toys for your kids, but they don't even look at those twice and frequently abandon them before having used or played with them even once. When kids are supposed to play, they don't know how because they simply have got everything, everything except their drive. As a result, nothing really means or matters anymore because there's just nothing left to hold on to. We all need to refrain from buying crap for the sake of shutting each other up, but get together and teach the younger ones what the traditions are actually about. Let's block out all those stupid commercial distractions and silently focus on the contents of our old traditions instead.
Why is this? Well, this is because the traditions themselves have been deprived of their original meanings and messages. I remember as kids we could not wait for Christmas Eve to finally come, as this was a highlight that came with a package deal. Sure, we were looking forward to being handed our presents, but without all the other facets the celebration itself would have become a forgettable one. I still recall quite a few absolutely memorable Christmas Eves with my parents and grandmother, and my sister and I, we loved every minute of it every year again! We would wait for the chime of the tiny Christmas bell indicating that the Christ Child had just left our house.
Finally, we could enter the living room, and BAM there it was, our Christmas tree as beautiful as could be! Of course, we lay eyes on all the neatly wrapped gifts spread all over the room, but before unpacking them, we would sing numerous Christmas songs with my dad playing the organ. Only then we were taken off the leash, so to speak, and could indulge our presents. Later we would eat traditional foods, talk and laugh a lot. That was Christmas back then. Today you buy gadgets and toys for your kids, but they don't even look at those twice and frequently abandon them before having used or played with them even once. When kids are supposed to play, they don't know how because they simply have got everything, everything except their drive. As a result, nothing really means or matters anymore because there's just nothing left to hold on to. We all need to refrain from buying crap for the sake of shutting each other up, but get together and teach the younger ones what the traditions are actually about. Let's block out all those stupid commercial distractions and silently focus on the contents of our old traditions instead.
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