Consumerist Christmas.

My philosophy IA is about Fight Club and I am looking at the idea of consumerism. Returning to Denmark, I have found this dominating consumerist mindset just about everywhere and just wanted to make a note on this.

I seem to be returning to the point of Christianity ebbing out rather often and I will do it once again. Christmas has to be the brightest example of this. Christmas is a consumerist holiday. However bleak that statement may seem, I believe it to be true. Of course it is not only that. For a few, Christmas is actually a time to celebrate Christianity. For most, it is a time to come together and enjoy the traditions they know and love. But for all, it is a time to buy. The amount of money that Danes spend during Christmas is insane. The food, the decorations, the presents. The thing that made me most aware of this extreme consumerism was an article in a Danish newspaper. It was based on an study of last year’s Christmas presents, and showed that 21% of the people in the study did not remember a single Christmas present! I find that absurd and unpleasant. What is the point of spending such an incredible amount of money on something that is so quickly forgotten or put away?
To top it all off, the Christmas light-installations seem to be even more flamboyant and extreme this year (I did not think it possible) despite the fact that my city has just hosted the cop15 climate conference.

All in all, I think it is a shame that Christmas seems to be turning into a holiday of stress and consumption rather than a time to get together and enjoy each others’ company. That being said, I do love this time a year, especially since Denmark is covered by snow right now. A white Christmas is just priceless. Merry Christmas everyone.