The Selfish Season: How a Commercial Christmas is a Moral One
What is Christmas to You?
The Most Egoistic Time of the Year
How passive aggressive can an alleged Christian get? Videographer Joshua Feuerstein’s YouTube moue against Starbucks’ decision to not include the word “Christmas” on its holiday themed cups serves as just another indirect attack on the business of the Christmas season. As opposed to representing the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth (which took place sometime in the spring) Christmas is a time to preserve peace, express joy, and display love for the top values in an individual’s life. Far from being a religious exchange, the gift giving (and getting) associated with this time of year mean that it’s both enjoyable to offer and receive. The commercialization of Christmas demonstrates that a secular more rational approach has superseded any mystical intentions.
The Christians cannot claim a holiday season. By recognizing that they hold sacrifice and selflessness and then seek to enjoy and join the merriment of this season, guilt and resentment result. By stuffing their altruistic leanings down to ask for that favorite Blu-Ray or that new auto-balancing scooter, most people who serve God or society feel a sense that they don’t really deserve such items but covet them nonetheless.
And this has nothing to do with that great moral symbol: Santa Claus. With Saint Nicholas, children can look forward to obtaining goodies under the tree only if they have been good. With Kris Kringle, his only concern is with the upright kids, not the bad ones. If children can understand this arrangement why can’t grownups? So, for Feuerstein to lambast a private, profit seeking corporation, he is actually damning figures like Father Christmas who represent ethics for the season. He ought to expect nothing but a lump of coal under the tree where a Starbucks gift card for a Trenta sized coffee would be. His weak argument and pouting demeanor broadcast his lack of comprehension of what Christmas truly means. The selfish, greedy love one feels for family and friends is what it is all about. That sensation of watching the eyes of a child light up upon receiving a Star Wars Lego set, or the warm feeling of taking a spin in a new Audi Quattro remain priceless experiences. May a rogue mystic or altruist never deny such happiness.
