The meaning of Christmas

Join me in boycotting the shopping malls this year

THIS CHRISTMAS I WISH for peace and goodwill to all men. Except for people at a company called Swire.

For them, I hope something REALLY nasty happens, particularly to the promotions department.

Last week, I received a card from Swire, a multinational business. “REAL CHRISTMAS SPIRIT” it said. “From now until 3 January 2010, experience the real spirit of giving at Pacific Place.” The small print urged recipients to spend a fortune at their mall for a free gift and a chance to win a “Citibank Credit Card Spending Credit”.

The company has spent millions with the promotion appearing in handouts, in newspapers, and on the Internet (pic above). Swire gets the Scrooge award for Most Obscene Mid-Identification of the Christmas Spirit. Luckily, no one is stupid enough to fall for this, except for hundreds of thousands of people who will flock to their shops.
*
I hate people who corrupt Christmas, my favorite holiday. And I am NOT showing religious bias here. My father was a Muslim and my mother a Buddhist, but when it came to December, we all became fervent Christians, even our Imam. You may say that this shows a lack of respect to the beliefs of our forebears, to which I would reply: get real. You give folk a choice between going to work as normal, or staying home and wallowing in an orgy of affection, food and gifts under a tree and suddenly we are all into tolerance and understanding, even the atheists.
*
But before fundamentalists from any faith burn down my house, let me make it clear that I believe all major codes of belief deserve respect, INCLUDING the silly ones.

Now most faiths contain wonderful elements which are exclusive to them. For example, someone took me to a Hari Krishna meeting. Singing the same line 400 times over is a tradition these charming people take seriously, and as far as I am concerned, they can keep it.

But at the same time, most major cultural groups generate brilliant things which they share with everyone. Muslims created algebra, China’s Han Dynasty invented paper, my Uncle Ernie perfected the Nose Kazoo, and Christians created Christmas, which is gradually becoming everyone’s holiday.
*
Swire executives, listen up: the real spirit of Christmas is NOT shopping. The message of every single Christmas tale, from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas to the new 3D Christmas Carol movie, is the opposite: the triumph of love over materialism.

*
Two days after receiving Swire’s obscene message, I encountered an interesting message from folk at Community Church Hong Kong, who have foresworn shopping to devote their hours to visiting prisons, orphanages and old folks’ homes, etc. They are a local branch of a world-wide conspiracy to steal back Christmas from the commercial hijackers. (www.adventconspiracy.com)

Leader Steve Gaultney said: “Love is a four-letter word spelt: T, I, M, E.” I went to a nativity play they held at a local school hall and I learned so much from him and his colleagues. Most of us are smart enough to know (sorry, Swire) that Christmas is NOT about shopping. After much thought, I realized that Christmas is not even about a particular date. It’s a space you enter when you are in the right frame of mind.

Inspired, I wrote a song, persuaded reader Karen Teoh to sing it, and asked kids and old folk at the nativity to film us (and themselves). This is a Christmas message to Swire and anyone else who thinks Christmas is about shopping. (Warning: Video not suitable for people who find amateur guitar playing and sentimentality offensive.)

As a further protest, I am going to redirect my disposable income this month—and I am talking about SEVERAL DOLLARS here.

Instead of spending it at a mall, I will give it to Mr Gaultney, to do with as he pleases. My recommendation is that he buys vast amounts of explosives and blows up a shopping mall at midnight when it’s empty. But he’s probably much too nice.

Shame.

 

Technorati Tags: christmas,real meaning of christmas,pacific place,swire properties

Comments

[Dancer]

I once asked a Japanese girl whether or not there are many Christians in Japan.
She squinted at me, looking confused and said, 'Everybody's Christian at Christmas.'

[Mother of three]

I too was absolutely disgusted at the Pacific Place promotion. I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with retailers selling goods at Christmas, that's what they do to make money, and there's nothing wrong with that. But to claim that the true spirit of Christmas is shopping for designer goods is disgusting. I too will not visit Pacific Place this Christmas.

[Denis]

Only Mr Jam could talk about blowing up a shopping mall and make it sound like a sweet and sentimental expression of the true Christmas spirit!!!!

[Jason]

Why is anyone surprised by Swire's ad? This is Hong Kong, a bastion of crass, materialistic conspicuous consumption, this is just status quo, sadly.

[Mrs K.J.]

True Jason but this is not a HK company.... Swire is "old money" from the UK (Sir Adrian Swire). In the UK, they would never do such a thing. The public would not let them getaway with it. As Mother of three above says, theres nothign wrong with promoting shopping, but claiming that shopping is the true meaning of christmas is a bridge too far. It would be interesting for Mr Jam to contact Sir Adrian and see what he thinks the real meaning of Christmas is 'on the record.''

[John from Baguio]

We discovered the "true spirit of Christmas" at PP yesterday. My wife wanted the kids to have a photo with Santa so we paid our money and got a number (there's no line). That will be about an hour they said at 5.45. So we had an early dinner. We came back at 6.45 and for 25 minutes watched a series of adults (not a child in sight) swan around inside and eventually have their photos taken. The line had progressed 36 places and we still had six to go. They then took a break until 7.30, a fact not previously announced, which of course is too late for two under 4's who have had a long day. It would have taken 30 seconds for my wailing daughter to get a photo but they simply did not care.

[Jason]

John, I wonder if the Santa staff have the same union as British Airways flight attendants?

[farah]

you cant blame them because holiday seasons are the best time to run company campaigns. this brings in more revenue for the company.

that's speaking from a business point of view. but from a customer's point of view money sucking campaigns just plain ol'sucks!!

[Christy]

Hong Kong is a very strange place. We're not a Christian country, as in constitutionally declared like Zambia, but the important Christian festivals are all public holidays and every school, Christian or not, gives student a looooong Christmas break. (Which is why we all love Christmas!)

Once I met the principal of the local Islamic high school at the mosque, and I asked him the question burning in my mind: what do you do about Christmas? (i was imagining students miserably having lessons while everyone else is having a good time.)He blinked at me and said, er, we have holidays.

I persisted, "but what do you call it?" He blinked again: "Why, *THE HOLIDAYS*".

[Angela]

For our company's official Christmas e-cards we use "Season's Greetings and Best Wishes" and "Happy Holidays". It's non-sectarian, thus politically correct, and we can send to all customers regardless of their religious orientation.

Hmm...maybe I can recycle the cards for Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Vesak, Hari Raya, Hanukkah, etc..will save lots of money.

[Nury]

Christy's Islamic friend has the same attitude that my family had. We can all be super-tolerant and celebrate with each other.

It's nice to hear of Muslims being tolerant!

In India, Christmas is just called Big Day.

I used to say "happy holidays" like your company, Angela, but I've switched back to "Happy Christmas". After all, I say "Happy Deepavali" during the Hindu festival and "Happy Hanukkah" during the Jewish one, so I don't think it's a crime to wish people Happy Christmas at Christmas. But then I've never been very good at being politically correct!

Sometimes I forget what religion my friends are and just say "happy whatever-it-is-that-you-celebrate" and "have a nice thing".

[Useful Info]

Your friend Steve is part of an anti-commercialisation movement that has been making waves around the world.
The Advent Conspiracy started with a small group in St Louis three or four years ago and has spread like wildfire, and now covers 17 countries.
If you do your research you'll find that the money diverted from shopping malls has built wells and schools and clinics in the poorest parts of the world.Now that's what I call good gifts to give to celerbate Christmas.

[Humming bird]

The song is sweet and actually rather catchy. Given a full Disney treatment with violins and an orchestra, it could actually fit onto a movie or a Christmas album. It's better than half the rubbish we hear on the radio these days.
On the other hand, maybe an orchestra would kill it. The simplicity of guitar and voice may be part of its charm.

[Nury]

There was an interesting article, I think in the Boston Globe, written by a Jewish guy who has just got his first Christian girlfriend and is spending Christmas with her family.

For the first time, there is a present with his name on under the tree.

He says that Hanukkah is celebrating an incident focused on a battle and bloodshed.

He writes that comparing Christmas and Hanukkah is like comparing a supermodel and a 12-year-old girl with tooth braces.

A psychologist friend of mine says that the brilliant thing about Christmas is that it is celebrating a baby (the religious version) or love (secular version).

Both love and babies are magical parts of the human experience, and from a psychological point of view, that's why Christmas has crossed from being a one-religion thing to being a celebration for everyone.

[TS]

Now I'm confused, what is the difference between a supermodel and a 12-year-old girl, apart from the tooth braces?

[Angela]

TS, do you know that tv show "are you smarter than a 5th grader?" 12-yr old kids in that show are very smart ;-)

[Vaibhav Chadha]

a 12 year old has the brains of a 12 year old, and well a super model has hes cup size instead of brains.

[TS]

Christmas shopping can be fun.
Recently my sister and her family was over in London from Denmark to visit us.
Because the pound is rather weak, they decided to do some Christmas shopping while they were there.
My sister's daughter needed a new pyjamas and she wanted one with dots on it.

Most everyone in Denmark can speak English and are not afraid to do so, even if they don't have a wide English vocabulary. Many words are the same, or so similar that if you are not sure about a word, you just use the Danish word and pronounce it like an English "twang" to it.

So when my sister couldn't find a dotted pyjamas for her daughter, she tried to find a shop assistant to help her.

Siblings are eternal rivals, even if they as grown-ups have a civilised relationship, they know nothing better than getting one up on the other.

As my sister searched for the shop assistant, I hovered nearby behind clothing racks just within earshot in case she found one.
I knew my sister wasn't practising her English much, I had heard her using the "Danish Word - English Twang" technique a lot in the few days she had been with us in London.

Unfortunately she found a pyjamas with dots herself, otherwise I would have had a really funny story to tell.
The Danish word for "Dot" is "Prik".

[Vince A]

I've just greeted my very first ever 'happy holidays' to a colleague, and I now regret being so supine about saying 'Merry Christmas'

Thanks Nury for reminding me it's OK to say 'Christmas'

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

[Jason]

Vince, I will be filing an indictment against you in court this afternoon. As a recovering Protestant, I feel this is a blatant abuse of my freedom from religion! ;)

[Angela]

Sunday evening, at the insistence of close friends, I joined them at the advent mass. As I stepped through the church gate, I noticed 5 people behind me had stopped walking so I turned around and asked “what’s wrong?”, one said “nothing! Go on, we just want to see if you will burst into flame”

After the service I went to talk to the priest for a bit, then when we said goodbye I shook his hand and I wished him a “good evening and Merry Christmas, Father!”
He held on and asked “what do you mean, Merry Christmas? Aren’t you coming back again?”

Actually I planned to attend only one mass but since he caught me trying to get out of my Catholic obligation, now I have to complete the mass which ends on Christmas eve.

Sigh…I think my eye brows are singed from the holy water droplets and my palm is still sizzling from the encounter with a holy man.

[sej]

Angela,

Maybe this church thing isn't so bad?

I remember when I was at school, all the guys wanted a girlfriend from the local Catholic school. (I went to the local public co-ed school.)

Billy Joel wrote "You Catholic girls start much too late" in "Only the good die young", however the reality of it seemed to be quite the reverse. I think the psychology behind it was you are actually more likely to do something you have specifically been told not to do.

[Karuna]

>>"that's why Christmas has crossed from being a one-religion thing to being a celebration for everyone"

By promoting it be a global celebration, the whole meaning gets changed. It becomes trivial and beyond a point become offensive to another.

For a christian, Christmas would have personal meaning of God, love, family and redemption.
For others, unless they appreciate the beauty of the phenomenon called Jesus, the meaning would just be a holiday to relax and yes....,shop.

And why do we stoop low to even to have the need to compare Christmas and Hanukkah ? Is one really better than the other ? Is a supermodel better than 12 year old girl with tooth braces or vice versa ?

Faith being a very personal journey that each undertakes on his or her own pace, may seem silly to another. Even if we are to study the lives of great spiritual masters , their life could be seen as silly.
- One renounced his life as a prince and wandered as a monk.
- Another, willingly accepted torture and crucification.
- Third, not only was great spiritual teacher. But, also was a warrior who led his men into war.
And interestingly each of them had a very different understanding and experience of God or Truth.

Just the same, each of us have diverse experiences and understanding of God or Truth.

This diversity is what makes life beautiful. If we can respect that diversity, we as a race are saved.

Merry Christmas

[Angela]

Beautiful post by Karuna. Living in multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious family and society, I experience each holiday differently and none involved shopping. Each is different but one thing feels the same, love, being together with family and friends, and joyful sharing and warm camaraderie between neighbors and even visiting strangers. Theres bound to be plenty of food, sometimes excessive and everyone who pass by gets invited to help finish the food or bring it back.

[Angela]

Sej:

Catholic girls think: if my brothers never went blind for what they did parhaps I won't go the hell for what I'm thinking of doing :-)

yeah we start late but we are trained to be thorough and to last long.

I once said this to a guy I was going out with, he was getting impatient and I wanted to give him some encouragement coz I like him: "think of me as a diesel engine, takes some time to warm up but once you get me going I can take you places you never go to on your little fast car, i can last long with low maintenance." he asked "noisy too? Like diesel engine?" me: "yeah, and don't forget, manual. I hope you can drive stick"

;-)

morning folks!

[Mike]

Your video brought a smile to my face. In the spirit of Christmas I can honestly say that your video was the best Christmas video by a bald sunglass wearing Asian writer and his reader friend that I have seen all day.

[Jason]

And Angela just rocketed to the top of a number of male readers Christmas card lists!

[sej]

Hmmm... rather than Christmas Card Lists, I think she rocketed to the top of their Wish Lists... Just I'm not sure what happened to the whole concept of "naughty and nice"...

[Nury]

If Angela is the prize, I think most of us would rather be on the naughty list where she will be rather than the nice one...

[TS]

Angela knows an awful lot about diesel engines and truck size vehicles...

I'm just saying...

[Vaibhav Chadha]

Angela - How are you still allowed to be in Singapore? Are you sure you havent been reported for thinking and mentioning .....well what we all would like you to mention in our presence.

[TS]

I just thought that I would remind you not to go all green, remember to buy batteries for the electric toys you buy for your kids.
They could suffer lifelong traumas and obsessions, like buying ten batteries of every size there is before Christmas eve.
Are you reading this dad? are you? ARE YOU?

[TS]

Just thought of a way to bind up some CO2.
First we all start dropping hints that next year we want a Christmas tree in each room of our house.
Eventually this rumour will get to all the Christmas tree growing guys. Don't worry about how, just think "six degrees of Kevin Bacon". They will start to plant three or four times the normal amount of Christmas trees needed.
Two months before Christmas we reveal that we have no intention of buying any Christmas trees at all this year and the trees will not be cut down.

[fardel]

the christmas tree business is very controlled and it is a "green"industry except for the transportation;
It takes a few years before the trees are cut
When they are , they are replaced by new ones and a new crop is on its way;
Until they are are ready to be cut, they benefit the planet like regular trees.
They provide jobs in remote areas where there is little industrial activity

Going green would be using real trees instead of plastic ones, which end up polluting the planet after use
the leaves (needles ) can be keep to dry to give a good scent into the cabinets in the house

[Kwong]

I welcome X'mas with open arms ... oh, I actually mean all holidays. Call them anything you want, as long as it is a holiday, I ain't going to raise my voice.

I also found the Swire promotion disgusting ... I don't mind spending the money at all, which I have little to begin with, but it would be nice if they could offer free trip to their malls from anywhere in the world (with no minimum purchase required), and I'll be the first in line.

Let's enjoy the X'mas holiday anyway. Merry Christmas to you, Mr. Jam, and all of your followers :)

[Louise]

Great sing Mr. Jan, compliments of the season!

I hope everyone will know and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

[Louise]

*song

hahaha that was funny.

[Louise]

What is up with my (lack of) spelling skills??

Sorry :E

[fardel]

It is called Christmas spirits (i.e Champagne, rum, tequila....)
Do not worry it is not contagious, and it does not last beyond January 3

[Angela]

On Christmas eve, my friend’s four year old boy Sean rushed through the front door to my living room, screaming his greetings and then planted a perfunctory kiss on my cheek before he headed for the presents under the Christmas tree to search for his name.

On the way, his fingers detoured to the icing on the log cake. “Cakes! Candy canes! Gifts! I love Christmas! And I also love Chinese New Year!” he said excitedly, bouncing around.

My friend pulled him aside for a little father-son tete-a-tete and said “Sean, Christmas is not only about sweets and presents, the most important reason is that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus our savior. Do you understand?”

Sean nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment, then he turned to his Dad asked, “so who was born on Chinese New Year?”

[fardel]

Imagine , leaving the main road, with its traffic and noise
Imagine , walking the planks of a lighted bridge , crossing an imaginery river.
Imagine , entering a lush garden, planted with huge mango trees,
the temperature has dropped a few degrees,
you feel the cool of the tropical moisture,
The noise from the streets faded away, to be replaced by the chirping of the tree frogs
A Christmas Carol plays in the background
You pass the gates
A fluffy dog greets you
A big black Santa watches the entrance.
You climb the stairs
You are there ,
in La maison du père Noël" (Santa Claus home)

It happened in my island
There was no money, there was no work.
Young men had to emigrate to seek jobs in far away countries.
They would come back , once in a while,for Christmas ,for family reunion.
This little girl's big brother brought with him the Spirit of Christmas:
They had little money
BUT
they had imagination
They would decorate the tree in the garden with foil paper , wrap paper and newspapers, shaped into stars and garlands , and paperballs.
They would roast a chicken they had raised in the garden along with yams and sweet potatoes, also grown in the backyard.
Maybe there was roasted pig , when the year had been good , and the hurricanes had spared the island
There would be guavaberry punch, made from the bays picked up months earlier by the little girl and her friends
They would invtie everybody to the celebration

Today , some 70 + years later, the Spirit is still there.
A house was built, numerous children gave birth to numerous children who in turn gave birth to more numerous children.
But , for this wonderful little girl , turned grandmother , great grandmother, and great great grandmother,the family is not big enough:
Her house is open , wide open , to everybody, to anybody who , in needs to find the Spirit of Christmas would find the time to stop by.
It is free , the guavaberry punch , the cakes , the sweets, the chocolates and more
It is free , the atmosphere, the friendship, the quietness ,the concert played by the tree frogs , mixed with the Christmas carols played by the miniature porcelain villages, or the full size black Santa.
But more , the feeling of being welcome of being "home" surpasses everything
It is magic, but it is real.
I hear you, guys
fardel is going bananas, again !

Are you so sure?

[fardel]

Imagine , leaving the main road, with its traffic and noise
Imagine , walking the planks of a lighted bridge , crossing an imaginery river.
Imagine , entering a lush garden, planted with huge mango trees,
the temperature has dropped a few degrees,
you feel the cool of the tropical moisture,
The noise from the streets faded away, to be replaced by the chirping of the tree frogs
A Christmas Carol plays in the background
You pass the gates
A fluffy dog greets you
A big black Santa watches the entrance.
You climb the stairs
You are there ,
in La maison du père Noël" (Santa Claus home)

It happened in my island
There was no money, there was no work.
Young men had to emigrate to seek jobs in far away countries.
They would come back , once in a while,for Christmas ,for family reunion.
This little girl's big brother brought with him the Spirit of Christmas:
They had little money
BUT
they had imagination
They would decorate the tree in the garden with foil paper , wrap paper and newspapers, shaped into stars and garlands , and paperballs.
They would roast a chicken they had raised in the garden along with yams and sweet potatoes, also grown in the backyard.
Maybe there was roasted pig , when the year had been good , and the hurricanes had spared the island
There would be guavaberry punch, made from the bays picked up months earlier by the little girl and her friends
They would invtie everybody to the celebration

Today , some 70 + years later, the Spirit is still there.
A house was built, numerous children gave birth to numerous children who in turn gave birth to more numerous children.
But , for this wonderful little girl , turned grandmother , great grandmother, and great great grandmother,the family is not big enough:
Her house is open , wide open , to everybody, to anybody who , in needs to find the Spirit of Christmas would find the time to stop by.
It is free , the guavaberry punch , the cakes , the sweets, the chocolates and more
It is free , the atmosphere, the friendship, the quietness ,the concert played by the tree frogs , mixed with the Christmas carols played by the miniature porcelain villages, or the full size black Santa.
But more , the feeling of being welcome of being "home" surpasses everything
It is magic, but it is real.
I hear you, guys
fardel is going bananas, again !

Are you so sure?

Imagine , you are walking the planks of a lighted bridge

[fardel]

Imagine Santa's dog greeting you

[fardel]

Imagine , a black Santa watching the entrance

It is real, it is magic, It is Christmas , it is...... in my island.....