Bah, humbug to the 'spirit' of Christmas

JAKARTA (JP): Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. Or not as the case may be. There is never much in Indonesia to convince you that the festive season is just around the corner. The odd TV commercial, however, may jolt you back to those wild pre-Christmas days in the West.

Right now, across countries of the Western hemisphere, companies are gearing up for parties, children are busily wondering what they should ask Father Christmas for, parents are pondering whether the kids have been naughty or nice and shops and malls are going into hyperdrive in an effort to entice that dollar, pound or franc from your wallet.

People say that Christmas is just for kids. Over the past couple of years, I have found this to be increasingly true. It's hardly a time of goodwill toward all people as you knock people out of the way in stores as you reach for the Power Ranger or Furby that's ever likely to be made in order to keep one of your small relations from being disappointed on the day itself.

I have always been one to knock the knockers of Christmas. But over the past couple of years this has been changing and maybe it's to do with age. But if last year's fiasco was anything to go by then you end up asking yourself "what's the point?" Dec. 24 last year saw me having bought no gifts for any members of my family. As the shops closed at 4 p.m. there ensued a mad dash to almost every store in the city of Dublin to buy the necessary. And then to spend the big day with people you would rather not, listing to endlessly boring conversations and watching dull movies on the box. Last year, as I was working on Christmas evening and had to drive, I only had champers at breakfast.

Therefore, I was left to watch in painfully sober detail, a gathering of family members which became more and more irksome as the day wore on. At one point I collapsed behind a counter, repeatedly muttering "let me out of here". But my family are not that bad. It is the sheer contrivance of situations such as these that drives one batty. It is no wonder that people, almost with a siege mentality, stock up on alcohol during this time.

Ask people a few days after Christmas how it was and the majority will say "very quiet", or "an anticlimax".

It is extraordinary that Christmas is one of the major events in the Christian calendar and that most Christians today have little regard for religion. If they do manage to go to church on the 25th, it is only out of a feeling of tradition. Why go one day out of the year when the only reason you are interested in Christmas is the gifts and nosh ups it provides.

The reason Christmas is an anticlimax for many is of course to do with commercialism. TV advertisements blare nonstop, enticing children to ask for the most expensive top-of-the-range gadget or toy. The marketing guys have Christmas down to a fine science. They known what kids want and put the snazziest spins on products made in Taiwan or Hong Kong and sold at extortionate prices. They, in conjunction with advertising folk cast a spell over toddlers, teenagers and even adults at this time of year. Make no mistake, Christmas is a sellers' paradise and it is all thanks to those three gift bearing wise men who came to the infant Christ.

As Christmas is supposedly a time for giving, why not give to the needy and never mind our your friends and family who are well catered for during the year with endless birthdays and other celebrations. Let's forget about ourselves for once and think of those who are less well-off. That would be in keeping with the true spirit of Christmas. We would feel better about ourselves afterward as we are already dying in a glut of commercialism.

It is quite a change to be in a country where Christianity is in the minority and apart from some malls here putting up festive decorations, there is noting even remotely similar to what is going on in the West. The only exception in Asia, of course, being the Philippines which is mainly Catholic. And a December trip to Manila a couple of years ago showed that there people are more concerned with the religious aspect of Christmas rather than the commercial.

In Indonesia, those who celebrate Christmas seem to have their priorities straight. Here, it is the Mass of Christ as opposed to the mass manipulation of the season.

However, many adore the festive season as it offers an opportunity for some major R&R, an overindulgence in seasonal food and drink and a time to meet friends who have returned from abroad for the period.

Also, for many in the Western world, the idea of Christmas is a romantic one. Think of the traditional Christmas card and you will see a scene filled with snow-covered countrysides with merry carol singers. All too often though, this is not the case. However, last year, the day after Christmas, I along with some friends took a trip to the west of Ireland which is mountainous and was completely snow covered. For a few fleeting hours, Christmas seemed like the package they had been selling me all my life.

Particularly in the British Isles, during the festive season everything comes to a standstill for about two weeks, different to the States where it is just a one-day holiday. In some parts of Ireland, you are lucky if you can buy bread and milk three days after Christmas Day. The only business being done in many towns and cities is in pubs and hotels.

It is high time to put an end to telling children lies about a mythical figure who rides a sleigh around the world delivering toys, a time to realize that religion has moved to the cash register. I propose that Christmas be scaled down and all commercial promotions pertaining to the same be abolished and outlawed. The 25th should be kept as a one-day holiday meant only for religious commemoration.

This is my first year away from home at Christmas as every other year, wherever I had been, I returned home. But this year will seem more like Christmas than any other.

-- William Furney