2008 Holiday Analysis:

The older I get the less exciting the holidays become. This year seemed to be much more mellow than previous, I saw a lot less of family and noticed my general attitude towards Christmas and Hanukkah changed. Previous years i remember the holiday season being a competition between friends: who got everything they asked for and who got the most expensive gifts. Christmas morning before being able to even enjoy and appreciate what where were being giving, it was spent on the phone, exchanging the full run down of what we had gotten. Thinking back i think it was just a hidden ego boost, making us feel good about what our parents could afford and displaying the amount of love they had for us though the money and thought that was put into all the gifts we received. Most years i would just make wish lists to make one, usually asking for things i didn't really need or want. This year was different than most, I did not expect anything and was happy with whatever i did or didn't get. I discovered a new appreciation for what i have already, compared to most people in America and around the world.

I feel the holiday season has become more about giving and giving then actually taking the time to realize what you have and understand the meaning of each holiday and what it is all about (if you believe in it, spiritually). when and why did religion start and how has the birth of Jesus turn into a day celebrating consumerism and bring companies millions if not billions of dollars. seems to me that it has just become another excuse to buy materialist possessions that most people could live without. Living in American we will always be buying something, it is hard not to because that is what we have all become accustomed too. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that 80% of American live in places other than cities, where they all drive cars and their idea of fun is meeting a group of friends at a mall (normally a place to doing nothing but shop). It is a normal thing for Americans to do, so they continue to do it because they want to fit in (keeping up with the trends and sporting the latest gadgets advertised on TV). Christmas seems to me to just be another day in the AWOL, the only difference is that it is a day where people are expected to give and receive things that where bought for them.