Sunday, October 28, 2007
It’s The Most Wonderful Ambiguous Time Of The Year
As Halloween comes and goes in its usual brief flurry, it is once again time for the new tradition that must be endured between the shop until you drop period following the day of over-consumption of food products, football and being with family no one really likes, and the day of hell that is the 26th of December, unaffectionate known to retailers as the day shoppers return those flawed holiday gifts that just were not quite right. Yes, it is the traditional moaning of the retailers as consumers fail to meet their expected spending goals. It has become an annual ritual, the retail industry will daily broadcast their sales figures then complain about how the average shopper just does not live up to expectations. But, speaking for Mr. and Ms. Shopper, why should we? What motivation does the American consumer have to shop from the day after the fourth Thursday of November to the night of December 24th until they fall into a comatose state?
With the expulsion of, dare I say the word, Christmas from the season and its replacement by an ambiguous “Holidays” there seems no compelling motivation to over indulge the credit cards. In removing the reason for the season from the season, the retails, in their apparent attempt not to offend anyone, except those who know the reason for the season, they have managed to eliminate the inspiration behind the reason for seasonal gift giving.
There was a time when the Christmas Season was a time for expressing appreciation to others for their roles in our lives. We gave a dollar to the mailman, the paperboy and even the guys who took away our trash. We bought gifts for relatives we hoped not to see until next Thanksgiving or fellow employees we wished would seek employment elsewhere. Why? Because that is what people traditionally did at Christmas time. No longer. Now we are constantly reminded that a small minority might be insulted by the celebration of this once religious holiday. Now we enter stores where the decorations are as vague and unimaginative as possible and still transmit some resemblance of a celebration of something. Is it no wonder that people do not flock to stores as they once did in a buying frenzy? It is no surprise that they do not buy a small gift for the least influential in their world?
In removing Christmas from their stores, retailers have removed the very incentive consumers had in increasing their generosity to others each year. What is the point of spending a buck for a nondescript holiday of some kind? Of course, retailers will continue to complain about the lack of increased revenue. It is traditional. Happy Generic Holidays to (insert name here).
With the expulsion of, dare I say the word, Christmas from the season and its replacement by an ambiguous “Holidays” there seems no compelling motivation to over indulge the credit cards. In removing the reason for the season from the season, the retails, in their apparent attempt not to offend anyone, except those who know the reason for the season, they have managed to eliminate the inspiration behind the reason for seasonal gift giving.
There was a time when the Christmas Season was a time for expressing appreciation to others for their roles in our lives. We gave a dollar to the mailman, the paperboy and even the guys who took away our trash. We bought gifts for relatives we hoped not to see until next Thanksgiving or fellow employees we wished would seek employment elsewhere. Why? Because that is what people traditionally did at Christmas time. No longer. Now we are constantly reminded that a small minority might be insulted by the celebration of this once religious holiday. Now we enter stores where the decorations are as vague and unimaginative as possible and still transmit some resemblance of a celebration of something. Is it no wonder that people do not flock to stores as they once did in a buying frenzy? It is no surprise that they do not buy a small gift for the least influential in their world?
In removing Christmas from their stores, retailers have removed the very incentive consumers had in increasing their generosity to others each year. What is the point of spending a buck for a nondescript holiday of some kind? Of course, retailers will continue to complain about the lack of increased revenue. It is traditional. Happy Generic Holidays to (insert name here).
