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Beyond Shopping

Reflecting on the holiday season
by Jacqueline Diaz


The holiday season will feel different this year.  While everyone speaks of
normalcy and sustainable patriotism, there is no denying that peacetime
holidays are very different than wartime ones.  This will be most noticeable
on the faces of mothers and fathers who are missing sons and daughters at
the dinner table.  It is unlikely that I will see my own brother--an army
reservist--at family functions where he quite ritualistically complains
about the gravy.

It will be a different kind of season--one where we will be made to think
about things that we generally ignore, like war.  Perhaps this present
reality can help us reflect on the meaning of the holiday season in a new
way.  Maybe we should be considering what really matters to us as mothers,
fathers, families, and members of a democracy.

Look around.  It's all marketing and dressed up shopping malls.  The notion
of a reflective time if giving and sharing is often little more than a
display of capitalism and the power of the American dollar.  Statisticians,
news anchors, and business giants are all clamoring to see the impact of
holiday sales, while homeless shelters and food banks gear up for the one
time of the year when most people feel compelled to give.  The season's
shopping will somehow set a trend for the fiscal new year, and the influx of
donations will directly translate into how many mouths can be fed.  But
let's not confuse business as usual with patriotism.  The love for a land
and a way of life doesn't need to correlate with stock prices.

 This holiday season, let us celebrate as a community instead of a
conglomerate of consumers.  Try something unconventional.  Think of what you
might give to people that will last longer than a fleeting moment when they
rip open a gift box or munch up all the peanut brittle.  Reflect! Explore!
If you are wondering about how to do this, check out my five easy ideas to
celebrate and strengthen our national and global community this holiday
season.

Buy Responsibly: Many people are in a financial bind as it is, so why not
try shopping at vintage clothes shops (especially ones run by non-profits),
patronizing local merchants or checking out your area swap meet. [ ]

Organization Shop: Everyone has a favorite organization that they'd love to
help, and most organizations have stores where you can find perfect gifts.
Shop on the web at sierraclub.org/store, greenpeaceusa.org/store, or buy
books from your local Friends of Public Libraries spot.  Also, instead of
gift certificates, support the arts by purchasing [ ] Choral or Theater
Society tickets.

Donate Used Toys: Toys are big sellers--to people who can afford them.  For
those who can't, give away that great toy that no one really plays with
anymore.  Try [ ], homeless shelters, or your favorite preschool teacher.

Give the Environment a Holiday:  Spare the air and the earth.  Carpool to
events, send less bulk, and  enough with the wrapping paper!  Buy Green.
Use grocery bags and decorate them or make your own recycled paper--see
<aifq.qc.ca/English/games/recipe.html> to learn how.

Love Your Heart: Instead of standing in supermarket lines to buy junk party
foods, swing by your local farmers' market and puck up fresh, seasonal
produce and baked goods from the people who grow and make them.

And remember, November 23rd is "Buy Nothing Day," so take advantage of an
opportunity to rest and reflect on the things that really matter in life,
and what the holiday season means to you.