Materialism and Commercialization of Christmas Today it seems as though Christmas has fallen victim to materialism and commercialization. Rather than it being a time of loving and giving, it has become a stressful season of greed. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it is important for us to recognize the true reason of the season, and celebrate in a fashion that exemplifies that reason. Many people in American society assume that the main purpose of Christmas is the supposed coming of Santa Claus. Their assumption however is far from the truth. The origins of Christmas, which literally means "Christ mass," actually lie in Christianity-not in the fat man with a stomach that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly. Centuries ago, Christians developed a tradition of celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday. Although Christians were unsure of the exact date of Christ's birth, they officially declared December 25th as the day they would celebrate it. The holiday began simply as a day in which families would spend quality time together, reflecting on Jesus' life, giving thanks to God for sending his "one and only son." One might ask, where did the tradition Santa Claus come from? The answer to this question unfortunately is not quite as straight forward. Somehow this tradition wove itself into the holiday season during the 4th century from Turkey, where a wealthy bishop, by the name of Nicholas habitually gave gifts to children. Following the death of Nicholas, he was honored as a saint, Sinter Nikolass, and a holiday was established in honor of him on December 6th. Dutch people in the Netherlands later shortened the saint's name to Sinter Klaas, which eventually evolved into Santa Claus in the US following Dutch i... ... middle of paper ... ...f greed, we as a nation need to seriously rethink why we celebrate the holiday, and make amends to our practices in order to embody that meaning. Works Cited "Annual Benchmark Report for Retail Trade and Food Services." Holiday GAFO Sales 1990- 2000 30 Nov. 2001http://www.retail industry.about.com Chan, Kai M.A. "Taking an Environmental Stance on the Commercialization of Christmas: Spending more isn't Celebrating Better." The Commercialization of Christmas 30 Nov. 2001 http://www.eeb.princetom.edu/~kaichan/christmas_commercialization.htm "The Christmas Dilemma." Jesus Christian Teachings 30 Nov. 2001 http://www.cust.idl.net.au/fold/teach/money_greed/The_Christmas_Dilemma.html Smtih, Deborahann. "The True Meaning of the Holidays." Gaiam 30 Nov. 2001 http://www.gaiam.com/gaiam/1,1267,ArticleDetail:learn:13:479,00.htm
Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’
Nothaft, C. The Origins of the Christmas Date: Some Recent Trends in Historical Research. Church
...ch out only for themselves, we lose sight of what Christmas is truly about. Forgetting the being of Santa Claus only makes us slight the kindness on which this holiday is based. Not believe in Santa! You may as well not believe in the very gifts laid under the tree on Christmas morn. Without your faith, Santa Claus would be nonexistent. There would be no yearning in your soul to give of yourself to others, no example to follow. Thank God, Santa Claus exists and exists forever, lightening the heavy heart as the sight of the snow blankets the soul and defines the heart of childhood.
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Christmas was originally called "The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus". The word "nativity" comes from the Latin word Natalis, meaning birthday. The observance probably does not date earlier than 200 AD and did not become widespread until the 4th century. The actual date of Jesus birth is unknown but what is known is that Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome. The date of Christmas coincides closely with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a time of rejoicing among many ancient cultures. Christmas, as the great popular festival of Western Europe, dates from the Middle Ages.
While many traditions are celebrated during the Christmas season, Santa Claus has been beloved by children all around the world for centuries. The myths about Santa Claus are thought to be based upon a 4th century monk named Saint Nicholas who was admired by many for his abundant kindness and donations to the
ChristmasThe year's most celebrated holiday is celebrated on December 25th, both in homes and churches worldwide. The meaning for Christmas is to recognize Christ's birth, of which the exact date is not known. During the fourth century the Bishop of Rome set December 25th as Christ's birth date. Some authorities claim that the choice of December 25th was made because it coincided with Chanukah, Mithraic's feast of the sun god, and the people of northern Europe's winter solstice feast. The winter solstice is the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when the noon sun appears to be farthest south. (All About American Holidays, 1962 Encyclopedia Encarta, 1998)The Saturnalia was celebrated for seven days, during the period of time when the winter solstice occurred.
During The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has used pleasure and pain in order to tell the story of Petruchio and Katherina’s courtship. This is problematic for modern day audiences, as they do not find the courtship methods that Petruchio employs to woo Katherina particularly comical. However, it could be argued that Shakespeare crafted The Taming of the Shrew precisely for this reason, to feature his views on patriarchy and to make the audience see what was happening through a new perspective. The Elizabethan audience would have been shocked at the methods used in order to achieve the taming, even though it was well within a man’s right to discipline his wife if she was deemed unfit. From the very beginning of The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare indicates that this play will not follow traditional rules of decorum, and that it is intended to both give pleasure and cause pain in order to make both Elizabethan and modern audiences take note of his underlying message.
The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.
Christmas is a holiday celebrated by many nations and religions around the world. The spirit of Christmas causes people to come together. It is one of the most favorite times of the year involving gift giving and merry making. To celebrate Christmas people decorate their homes, churches, and other buildings in which fellowship may take place. They may do this with ribbon, holly, mistletoe, and decking them with silver and gold. But where did all these traditions originate? Now, many believe that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth. The truth is that all of these customs from Christmas pre-date our Lord's birth entirely! Christmas today is just a collection of traditions put together to make the holiday we celebrate every year on December
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The main scene I have picked to discuss is Act five Scene one. At the
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25. On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees
Christmas is the most popular holiday in all of the land. Mostly everyone loves Christmas. There are three categories of Christmas people. Number one; the haters. They despise Christmas and think it is the devil and nothing good comes from lying to children and giving gifts for absolutely no reason at all. Number two; the average person. The ones who just buy the gifts, wear the holiday sweaters, and go to the annual Christmas gathering at Grandma’s where gifts and laughs are exchanged. Number three; the die hard Santa’s of the group. The few mothers or fathers who decorate the day after Halloween to get into the Christmas spirit. The tree is up on November first and the Christmas lights are hung all year round. They make sure to go black friday shopping to get everyone a gift, even cousin Nicholas, who is three times removed. Christmas is