So Christmas is upon us. Like the Wise Men who paid homage to baby Jesus we have to bear gifts and give them to the ones we love. Now is the time to show your friends and family how much you care about them by spending lots on presents.
Religion has faded so much in the UK (though not so much in the US, interestingly) that few people think about the Christmas story. They are more interested in what is on offer in the shopping malls and on Amazon. They are wrapped up in the process of shopping and spending, before they even think about the physical wrapping up and giving.
In fact Christmas Day seems to have become less important than the whole process around it. Sometime after Halloween, possibly the 6th November, Christmas begins. The coffee shops offer new (more expensive) drinks flavoured with ginger and cinnamon; the supermarkets have Selection Boxes, mince-pies and chocolate Santas. Snowmen and reindeer and snow-scenes abound, even though it rarely snows at Christmas in the UK. There are pictures of Father Christmas in the Coca-Cola colours everywhere. All of it designed to get us into the Christmas spirit. Get us shopping.
Of course it is all driven by the profit motivation. The UK economy is reliant on consumer spending and Christmas is one of the peak period for this. Throughout the summer factories in China churn out tonnes of crackers and toys and electronic goods to feed the demand. They are shipped halfway around the world and piled up in warehouses ready for the shops to sell at a nice markup for the festive season. No retailer wants to miss out on the bonanza so they all fight for their share of trade. And the earlier they begin the more likely they are to get a bigger share, apparently. Hence the creep towards an earlier and earlier start. Only the growth of Halloween as a commercial event has prevented Christmas moving towards September.
So, by the time late-December comes, it seems like Christmas has been around forever. There have been weeks of it in the shops and on TV. Every cafe has seasonal songs and towns are adorned with festive lights and decorations. The final push is Christmas Eve where we are encouraged to make those last purchases.
Then there are the Boxing Day sales (that once started in January, though some shops have even started having these pre-Christmas). And after that it's all over. The decorations stay up for a little while but the supermarkets clear out their Christmas stock on 27th December and the chocolate Santas and reindeer are instantly replaced by Cream Eggs, ready for Easter.
The sales limp into January when salads and low-fat ready-meals appear in place of turkeys and mince-pies. Christmas themed gifts are piled in the bargain section. The shops count their takings and prepare for the lean period. Before St Valentine's Day comes along and we have to buy gifts and give them to the one we love; prove how much you care by spending lots on presents.