consumerism

Saturday December 16, 2023

The 10 days before Christmas shopping

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 16, 2023

Navigating the Stress and Materialism for a Meaningful Celebration

December 23, 2022

Ah, Christmas – the time of festive lights, joyful gatherings, and the spirit of giving. It’s that magical season where we look forward to time off work, exchange gifts, and relish in the warmth of togetherness. Yet, amid the joyous facade, many find themselves entangled in a web of stress, a phenomenon that, studies suggest, could even lead to heart issues.

Winter’s shorter days and gloomy weather already cast a shadow on our moods. Imagine an environment flooded with dark corners periodically disrupted by bright, garish Christmas lights and decorations. Research hints that such extremes can be taxing on our mental well-being. The seemingly cheerful Christmas visuals might unwittingly contribute to the season’s stress.

It’s not just the visuals; the relentless repetition of Christmas songs can wear on even the most festive soul. While familiar tunes are generally well-received, the saturation of a few songs played incessantly can turn cheer into irritation. The limited playlist of Christmas songs, played on an endless loop, might just push us beyond the threshold of festive enjoyment.

Reporst: Canadians are planning to spend less this holiday season 

December 10, 2021

While we cherish the pleasant aspects of Christmas, the reality is far from the idyllic scenes portrayed in mainstream media. The pressure to create a perfect Christmas often falls on a designated family member, typically mom or the family matriarch, leading to heightened stress levels. The workload doesn’t diminish during the holiday; if anything, it intensifies with the closures of work and school, accompanied by more frequent visitors.

Expectations play a significant role in holiday stress. The idealized image of a flawless, cozy Christmas clashes with the unpredictability and messiness of real life. The human tendency to anticipate the best, coupled with the planning fallacy (our knack for underestimating the time and effort tasks require), sets the stage for disappointment.

In today’s digital age, social media amplifies the pressure to conform. The perfect Christmas isn’t just a personal goal; it’s a public spectacle. People not only navigate the extra workload to make Christmas happen but also strive to showcase their holiday achievements online. The societal and communal pressures can turn a joyful season into a stressful performance.

December 23, 2011

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the materialistic frenzy that ensues during the holiday season. The decked-out malls, the frenzy of consumerism, and the jingling all the way to the cash registers have become synonymous with Christmas. As the season approaches, the world succumbs to a costly ritual, leaving millions nearly penniless.

But why has Christmas shifted toward materialism? Originally a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas evolved over centuries, intertwining with pagan traditions and seasonal festivities. The 19th-century poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” played a pivotal role in transforming the holiday into a gift-giving spectacle, altering the once simple and magical celebration.

The solution to this materialistic frenzy lies in our hands. Let’s redefine Christmas as a time for family, generosity, and peace. Don’t succumb to the calculated moves of corporations seeking your money. Resist the societal pressure to overspend. Christmas, at its core, is about spending quality time with loved ones, not draining every dime in your wallet.

As we navigate the holiday season, let’s prioritize generosity over greed. Teach our children the true spirit of Christmas, fostering a sense of togetherness rather than consumerism. This year, let’s focus on creating meaningful memories, not accumulating more stress and debt. Christmas can be a time of genuine joy if we choose to embrace its essence – a celebration of love, compassion, and shared moments. (AI) 

 

Saturday March 12, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 12, 2022

Bye-bye to the Big Mac: Russia’s war heralds a dark, isolated economic era

August 10, 2007

The big western brands showed Vladimir Putin how to do it. While the Kremlin’s army was getting bogged down in Ukraine, Coca-Cola and Starbucks lost no time in closing their doors to Russian customers.

But the most emblematic move of all came from McDonald’s, which has shut all 850 of its outlets in Russia. The availability of Big Macs in the Soviet Union was seen in 1990 as evidence that the west’s old cold war foe was turning its back on communism, but the past fortnight has rekindled memories of the bad old days. There were queues outside McDonald’s when it first opened in Moscow. Last week, Russians queued for one last burger before the pull-out began.

One of Putin’s predecessors in the Kremlin – Lenin – once said there were decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen, and that’s true of the period since Russian troops moved across the border into Ukraine on 24 February.

Thursday December 17, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 17, 2020

A COVID Christmas can still be a giving time

Christmas is traditionally the biggest time for giving in Canada, but in this pandemic year that almost certainly won’t be the case.

December 8, 2018

Burdened by COVID-19-related financial stresses, fewer Canadians will be donating to charities this year, and many of those who do will offer less. At the same time, the pandemic has piled new responsibilities on top of the already burdensome workloads of many of the country’s charities that do everything from supporting the homeless to funding hospitals and vital medical research.

We’re not trying to make the year more depressing than it’s already been, but for the country’s charities, these conditions have created the perfect storm. And those fortunate Canadians who are still able to give to others should be aware of this.

They should listen to Bruce MacDonald, chief executive of Imagine Canada which works to support other charities across the land.

“The crisis is of a scale that we’ve not seen before,” he says, and his organization’s research backs his warning. No less than 68 per cent of Canadian charities have reported a drop in donations since the pandemic began. That translates into a massive, 30.6-per-cent decline in overall charitable revenues and possible losses of between $4.2 billion and $6.3 billion heading into a new year.

December 23, 2004

Hundreds of charities have already closed in 2020, even as 46 per cent of organizations in the sector told Imagine Canada that demands for their services have risen. Without a quick — and as yet unforeseen — turnaround, more charities will be forced to close while others will lay off staff and cut back the services they provide.

The public may not quickly notice some of these changes, even if they eventually prove profound. While there are close to 90,000 registered charities in the country, most are small, with budgets less $500,000 and are mainly run by volunteers. But the public might be surprised by some of the big-name charities have suffered a major hit.

December 18, 2001

The Globe and Mail recently reported that donations to the Canadian Cancer Society plunged by 70 per cent or $70 million this year while Cystic Fibrosis Canada had to cut 10 of its 69 staff members after what is expected to be a $6-million drop in its revenues.

Givings to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada fell by $13.5 million, just over 20 per cent, while after reducing its own operating costs by 30 per cent, the hard-hit United Way of Calgary is warning the organizations it supports that its funding to them could fall by the same amount.

Yes, the challenge facing the nation’s charities is grim. It’s not about numbers, either; it’s about people and social well-being. But it makes no sense to try to guilt every Canadian into stepping up because so many can’t.

Pandemic Times

Just 51 per cent of Canadians recently surveyed by Imagine Canada said they intend to make charitable donations this holiday season, a steep drop from the 62 per cent who answered in the affirmative in 2014. Thirty-six per cent of those who do plan to give say they will give less and the reason is often the same — the pandemic’s financial fallout.

So where does that leave Canada in this supposed season of giving? Whatever upheaval this year has brought, millions of Canadians have survived COVID-19 unscathed, their incomes and lifestyles untouched by the coronavirus. That’s also a fact.

To them we would say first: Consider the urgent, diverse and pervasive needs all around you. Then, we would simply add: Please remember your means. (Globe & Mail)

“MacKay’s point is more interesting. I might have avoided the red kettle, since Sally Ann gets criticized for mixing religion and charity, but it’s a recognizable symbol and the point remains that, if you can buy for your friends and family, you can help those without either.”

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Wednesday, December 24, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The Magic Of Christmas Eve Goes Beyond Religion

For all the crushing weight of consumerism and faux emotion to be endured each December, there is nothing that can touch late-night Christmas Eve. The tenderness of those hours, somewhere between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m., are without equal. It seems to me that, religious or not, in those few hours we collectively agree to something so valuable it almost makes two months of holiday carols worthwhile.

In that short window of late Christmas Eve, we see in each other the same vulnerabilities we know so intimately in ourselves. For those few hours, we let the charade and the walls drop and recognize each other for what we all are fellow travelers on a journey no one understands.

There is a great deal written about the science of altruism and the willingness of human beings to extend help to genetically unrelated strangers. But if you’re out late on Christmas Eve, you can often find something quite different from altruism. It’s a human attribute whose scientific explanation means a lot less than its direct experience. In the quiet of Christmas Eve what we can often find is a special kind of compassion and a compassion born of identity. (Source: Adam Frank, NPR)

Christmas, shopping, Christmas Eve, consumerism, peace, December