|
Reality Magazine A Christmas Pledge - December 1999 – Carmel Wynne I have never been able to trace the author of A Christmas Pledge, despite vigorous efforts to do so. Many years ago I saw it pinned to the notice board in Tabor retreat house. I asked for a photocopy. All the information they gave me was that a man who regularly came to the house picked up the sheet from the counter in a religious book shop in Dublin some years earlier. Staff in the bookstore could not help me trace where the pledge came from, they knew nothing of its origins. This document can help all parent who hate the commercial exploitation that goes on in the build up to Christmas, to think about their choices. It won’t be easy to counteract the clever business interests that set out to create desires in young girls and boys and encourage them to want extravagant presents. It’s understandable that impressionable children are so easily manipulated by media advertisements . Commercial companies market incredibly expensive toys in a way that puts pressure on parents to purchase or risk disappointment after Saint Nicholas’s visit. Children will ask Santa Claus for the toys and games that look like so much fun on television. Loving parents who want to keep the magic of Christmas alive for their offspring are frequently put under enormous financial pressures to meet these demands. If you are truthful you will probably admit that like most of us you spend more than you can afford at this time of year. The yule-tide season can be a financial nightmare for parents who would rather get into debt than let children be disgruntled with Father Christmas. Most people do a lot of gift buying and entertaining out of obligation. We may not consciously set out to spend money to impress others but a great number of parents feel obliged to give presents to their own and their children’s friends that are around the same monetary value as they anticipate receiving or a little higher. It’s more honest not to give a gift if you resent having to buy one. It’s so easy to get hooked into a cycle of returning presents. Often family members who don’t have the courage to opt out are stressed by the expectations of their relatives. Kris Kindle is a painless solution for adult family members who want to break such a cycle. Everyone participating agrees to a maximum figure to spend and they bring just one gift. A great deal of ingenuity is required to buy a gift suitable for either sex for £5 or £10 . Until the family come together to exchange gifts they usually have no idea who their Kris Kindle is. This is a lovely way to avoid doing anything to oblige others to spend on you. Market research shows that older couples have more disposable income than younger parents and this fact is also exploited by business people. Grandparents are often prepared to spend lavishly on their grandchildren, to give them the toys and games that they couldn’t afford to give to their own children. This is one reason why advertisements for the most expensive toys tend to have older people and children in them. People who buy these highly priced goods are often unaware that they are manufactured by exploited workers who are not paid a fair wage for their labour. Children are very idealistic and it is easier than many parents think to get them to lower their expectations when writing to Father Christmas. One way is to explain that this year he has to bring more presents to the boys and girls in Kosovo and Turkey and Florida. In those places the childrens’ toys were destroyed when their homes were wrecked in the war and the earthquakes and volcanoes. You may be surprised at how readily they accept that kind children won’t ask for too much this year. Santa can then be more generous with the boys and girls who need to have their old toys replaced. Another helpful and practical way to contain children’s expectations is to have two lots of presents. Santa could deliver a surprise and stocking fillers to the end of each child’s bed. The ‘big present’ can come from the parents and be left under the Christmas tree. This is a very practical practice to adopt for the times when a bicycle or a doll’s house or other similarly awkward item has been requested. Any parent who has ever made a Christmas eve delivery knows it is difficult to leave compact parcels without disturbing a light sleeper. Who wants to be forced to explain that he came to investigate a noise in the room and discovered that it must have been Santa leaving? Children who are creative can make parents aware that home-made presents and gift of service have a greater intrinsic value than something that is shop bought. Now I recognise that not everyone has the ability to draw or paint or compose or create other such artistic gifts. However everyone can do things like give time to visit family, invite friends for a meal, baby-sit for a parent who needs a break, give grinds in school subjects, or take over the farm work for a relative. The list of how we can free people for an hour or two or even a few days is endless. Sharing self rather than property is a truer of reflection of the real spirit of Christmas.
A Christmas PledgeI believe that Christmas is the joyful celebration of the birth of Christ. Therefore I commit myself to celebrate it in a way that is faithful to its meaning. Jesus is a radically free person; he came to liberate others. Therefore1. I will examine my motives for celebrating Christmas. 2. I will not spend money to impress others. 3. I will avoid doing anything to oblige others to spend on me. 4. I will not engage in excess of eating, drinking, partying or anything that will reduce the freedom of myself or others. 5. I will include alternatives to alcohol and cholesterol when I entertain. Jesus respects all life; he came that we might have life in its fullness. Therefore: 1. I will give gifts and do activities only if they enhance life – for myself and for others. 2. I will avoid gifts that are gadgets, made by complicated, energy consuming processes that excessively pollute the environment. 3. I will choose gifts that rely on the involvement, energy and ingenuity of the recipient. 4. I will avoid buying items made by exploited workers whose land and labour are sacrificed to tempt my consumer appetites. 5. I will question the source of consumer goods before I buy. Jesus cares about all people; he came to involve himself with others. Therefore: 1. I will celebrate Christmas by sharing myself more than my property. 2. I will give gifts of service which involve my time, my work, my spoken and written words, my art, my song, my presence – and other things that are not objects - whenever possible. 3. I will use some of my time to visit family, friends and those who have less, hurt more and have been forgotten. I will choose gifts that involve me and/or the recipient in their creation and use. Signed for Christmas 1999 byCarmel Wynne
|
