In most societies all over the world, Christmas is a time to indulge. Cultures around the globe honor Christmas as an occasion for extravagant indulgence. As the main commercial holiday of the year, companies start offering Christmas products and streaming the Jingle Bell tunes as soon as Thanksgiving is over and sometimes sooner! Major department stores including Sachs Fifth Avenue and Macy’s put up magnificent window displays portraying images of Christmas in a fantastic display of glitter, snow, and red and green striped candy canes. Even countries like Japan, which is not viewed as a Christian country, slip into the holiday spirit and load up on gifts for the Christmas season. I guess the spirit of giving is irresistible even when split from its religious origins. The nature of indulgence which Christmas brings upon us is not only extended to the gifts we give, but it branches out to encompass the ornaments we see all through town and best of all, the food we eat! Have you ever meandered through neighborhoods at night just to look at all of the Christmas lights on front lawns and roof tops? And how many times have you given yourself a tummy ache with all the Christmas cookies you devoured at the holiday cookie exchange? These Christmas traditions are created over the years in order to give us something to look forward to in the middle of winter. Christmas is a time to commemorate life. In a religious context, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of God’s son on Earth, Jesus Christ. Even individuals who are not religious choose Christmas as a time to celebrate the company of their loved ones in their life. Christmas is a time for gourmet living as I have mentioned before. Everything from the food you eat to the decorations you hang to the presents you give displays the season of the holiday, but they are not without cost. In difficult economic times, we find individuals limiting their Christmas spending and making necessary sacrifices to save money. Some people choose to buy a fake tree to save themselves the expense of buying a new one each year. Other people purchase energy efficient Christmas lights in order to have a smaller energy bill at the end of the month. And some individuals decide to forgo purchasing the store bought honey baked ham and to baste a ham at home instead. No matter how your family chooses to save money this Christmas, there is no reason why you should have to cut down on your gift giving just to save money.
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