Читать книгу The Shopping Truth About Christmas - Fran Bennewith - Страница 3

Introduction

The Shopping Truth must not be regarded as a highly accurate historical or theological account of Christmas. Initially, my intention was merely to discourage the exaggerated and stressful commercialism of a Holy Christian tradition. I was unaware of the enormity and intrigue that my investigation would uncover.

The deeper I delved, the more widespread and contradicting the facts became. I chose only a fraction of the material available which I thought relevant to my booklet, but for those interested, I recommend further investigation.

I hope that readers will find these revelations as life changing as I have.

Why Do We Do It?

Whew - “Thank goodness it’s over for another year!”

How many of us share these sentiments when we survey the debris of Christmas day? Bags of torn wrapping paper, toys (some already broken) piles of dirty dishes and the stale leftovers of Christmas feasting, paper hats and a sadly drooping Christmas tree with the incessant flashing lights. Maybe even nursing a hangover and sighing over empty wallets and bank balances. What was it all really for? Why do we do it?

Why indeed? My last January bank statement astounded me. I could not believe that the costs had escalated so fast. Did I really spend so much on Christmas? In a state of depression, I totaled my Christmas expenses for the last five years and was horrified to discover that I could have had an overseas holiday for the same cost. Even the memories of Christmases past were vague and lacking excitement, so I asked myself again, why do we do it?

I made a decision to investigate Christmas traditions and the motivation behind them that creates what has become a global Christmas madness. I decided to find some statistics first to ensure that other people shared my sentiments.