Two random things:

GOOD! Now enough of these stupid lawsuits, please!


Also...has anyone ever seen any statistical data to show definitively that the media is introducing Christmas Advertisments earlier and earlier each year? I know I cannot rely on my memory, but 3 weeks before Thanksgiving seems TERRIBLY more premature than I ever recall. Heck, why don't we just move the holiday altogether if people want it so bad to be here.

Advent...we used to do Advent...east and west both used to do Advent. What happened? Commercialism? Anti-traditional extremist proterstantism? Both? Any ideas? How did we forget Advent?

Comments

Mimi said…
I agree, the US could use a good dose of Advent right about now.

The thing that blows me away the most is not the stores all Christmassed up, I've grown to expect that, but I'm seeing houses decorated already. Ugh.
10:45 AM
Anonymous said…
In my mind the only thing worse than the creep of the Christmas shopping season closer and closer to the "back to school" shopping season, is the gradual removal of anything to do with CHRISTMAS from the whole event. I'm more than a little bitter about the whole thing since I am working in a retail environment once again after swearing up and down I never would again.
For example Sears has two slogans for this holiday season "Wish Big" (hey lets celebrate rampant materialism!) and "Wish for joy" (huh?)... of course I like the latter because I can easily turn it around tell people "I wish you joy", chuckling inward at my Patrick O'Brien reference, without getting the usual strange looks.
11:34 AM
fdj said…
Well, THIS was written in 2003, so at least in the last couple of years nothing much has changed.

I suppose if you try to GET people into the holiday giving spirit for a longer period of time you can perhaps suck more money out of them.

But why have our western churches essentially abandoned Advent? Sure, some of the older mainliners give it a nod, but little else.

Surely we ought to consider milking the season (earlier and earlier) for converts like the stores do consumers, no?
:)
11:54 AM
Anonymous said…
Probably for the same reason most western churches have given up Lent in any meaningful form. When you are preaching at the altar of the "prosperity Gospel" you aren't going to tell people that the time before Christmas is one of fasting and prayer. Aside from some PoMo church that will use it as an excuse to make a political statement against Walmart, few mainline churches are going to preach a message that runs counter to the materialistic commerialism of modern society, especially when they seem all to by trying desperately to stay "relevant".
1:36 PM
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