How would you feel about Christmas if there were absolutely no gifts at all? That may sound like a very strange question, but I think that it is a very important one, because the truth is that our biggest holiday of the year by far is all about materialism. According to ABC News, the average American will shell out $700 for Christmas presents in 2018, and the National Retail Federation is projecting that total Christmas spending will surpass $465,000,000,000. Only 25 countries on the entire planet have a GDP that is greater than that number. Ultimately, Christmas is defined by what we give and what we get, but is that actually healthy? (Read More...)
Christmas
The Pope Says This Christmas Is A ‘Charade’ And That For Some People ‘It May Be Their Last’
Pope Francis sure does say a lot of strange things. I don’t think that any other Pope throughout history has ever called Christmas a “charade” or has suggested that for many people this Christmas “may be their last”. What in the world would cause Pope Francis to adopt such an ominous tone? Without a doubt, the leader of the largest religious organization in the entire world would be privy to information that would not be available to ordinary people like you and I. Could it be possible that he is aware of something that is coming that is going to dramatically change life on this planet? What we do know is that our world is becoming increasingly unstable. World War III threatens to erupt in the Middle East at any time, the number of terror attacks around the globe continues to increase, earthquake activity continues to rise, giant cracks are opening up in the ground all over the world, and we are rapidly plunging into a brand new global financial crisis. There is certainly a lot to be concerned about, but what would make the Pope so glum that he would actually call Christmas a “charade”? (Read More...)
100 Year Old Christmas List From A 7 Year Old Boy Shows How Materialistic Our Society Has Become
If there were no presents at all, would you still want to celebrate Christmas? 100 years ago, a little seven-year-old boy named Homer Mellen sent Santa Claus a letter asking for “a box of paints, also a nine cent reader, and a school bag to put them in.” And he added that if Santa happened to have “any nuts, or candy, or toys to spare” that he would love to have some. My, how times have changed. Today, nearly all of us expect to be showered with presents on Christmas morning, and then almost immediately people begin posting photos of their “Christmas loot” on social media websites such as Facebook. And as you will see below, the “Rich Kids of Instagram” have taken boasting about wealth to an extreme that nobody has ever seen before. Our society has become deeply, deeply materialistic, and whatever “meaning” Christmas once may have had has become almost completely lost at this point. (Read More...)
The Most Depressing Time Of The Year In The Most Depressed Nation On The Planet
Did you know that the rate of suicide is highest during this time of the year and that 45 percent of all Americans dread the Christmas season? We are constantly being told that Christmas is the happiest time of the year, but mental health professionals tell us that the exact opposite is true. For large numbers of Americans, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is filled with stress, anxiety, loneliness and family squabbles. And for most people, the reality of the holidays never even comes close to matching up with the glittering ideal portrayed in movies and on television. As a result, depression tends to spike during the month of December. And of course Americans are quite depressed most of the time anyway. In fact, one out of every ten Americans is on an antidepressant as you read this article. No other nation in the world even approaches that level. So right now we are in the midst of the most depressing time of the year in the most depressed nation on the entire planet. What is wrong with this picture? (Read More...)
No Christmas For Millions Of American Families This Year
For millions of American families, there will be no Christmas this year. The sad truth is that an increasing number of families simply do not have money for Christmas presents or any other luxuries right now. The number of Americans that fell into poverty set a new all-time record last year and extreme poverty is at the highest level ever measured in the United States. This Christmas, a lot of American families will be deciding whether to spend the little money that they do have on food, heat or medicine. All over America, the poor are getting poorer and each year the economic pain seems to get even worse. But there are also many American families that will have no Christmas this year for other reasons. Some are just sick and tired of all of the materialism that is involved in Christmas. Others are trying to be “politically correct” and don’t want to offend anyone. There are even a growing number of Americans that are Christians but that believe that Christians should not celebrate Christmas for spiritual reasons. Once upon a time, Christmas was pretty much considered to be a nearly universal holiday in the United States, but that just is not the case anymore. There are millions upon millions of Americans that simply will not be celebrating Christmas at all this year. (Read More...)