22 year old british artist darren cullen is prophetic, as often artists are prophetic, and he'll likely make many mad on the way to making us think more critically about this whole north atlantic consumer festival of december.
"On Christmas Day, the birthday of Jesus Christ, children around the world awake early to scramble for and salivate over their brand new consumer products, singing songs about Santa Claus and decorating their homes with homage's to the new religion. Jesus lurks in the background of the festivities, an uncomfortable reminder of how far the celebrations are from anything he once stood for. Santa Claus provides a much better spokesman for a festival and a society based on rampant greed and materialism.
Christmas Day is perhaps our first introduction to the modern Industrial economy. It is that first gift from the factory that makes the connection between products and potential happiness. From then on, we want more, we want it bigger, better, louder, and more shiny. Relations between family and friends at Christmas become a transaction:
Amount of Love = Amount of Money Spent. And after years of free stuff, when we're dependent on the anticipation and desire, but we find out that Santa isn't real, it was a lie all along; then the world of working for a living is explained to us."
Just a note about the way my family has removed Santa from Christmas. We have collected a number of books about the myth of St. Nicholas and his connection to both the church in turkey and to children. My kids like knowing that he was a real person and that his giving was a service to God as well as other people. We celebrate his feast day on December 6th with small gifts in stockings. It has become a much looked forward to day at the begining of Advent. My children no longer expect that Santa will arrive on Christmas Eve. They look forward to the celebration at church and with family as the highlights of the day.
Posted by: Anne Marie Griffin | December 24, 2005 at 12:08 PM