Today, I had a conversation on MSN with one of my friends where the main topic of conversation (after back-to-school anticipation) was prom dresses. We both have ideas about what we want to wear; she has several different options to choose from, and I have a specific dress that I have fallen in love with already. And that got me thinking... isn't it a bit early for us to be thinking about that stuff? I mean, our prom is this year, but it isn't until about late June/early July time. Why do we seem to pick things out in September?
Which leads me onto thinking about how society always seems to be getting ready for the next big event. It seems like we have barely left school for the summer when the adds come out for back to school supplies and school uniform. Once that ends, we get into Halloween, then Bonfire Night, then Christmas, New Year, January sales... Each holiday is advertised and stoked for before the last one has even happened. It gets to the point when the Valentines Day junk makes way to Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies almost immediately following February 14th.
It's official: we live in a society obsessed with holidays that are just an excuse for retailers to make money. Even those that were originally religious have become bottled up and labelled, to the point where, unless they have been specifically told the religious stories, children don't even know the significance of the holiday beyond the superficial material exchanges that are made on that particular day, whether they be chocolate, toys or other gifts. Now, I'm not religious, and I never have been, but I went to a primary school that, while it wasn't specifically a Christian school, did have very string links with the village church. I grew up with 'Vicar Assembelies' every Wednesday, learning about Lent and the meaning behind Shrove Tuesday - also known as Pancake Day. I was told the Easter story and the Christmas story, and I was in several plays based on the Nativity. I think this is something that is really important; teaching kids about why we have these holidays, so that they don't just become like another birthday, where gifts are given for no obvious reason.
Now that I've got that out of my system... XD
See you tomorrow guys.
Glitterb
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