Dangers of Christmas #3
At the beginning of December the Huffington Post featured an article on the
. The article focused on fire safety during the holiday season. They covered everything from your Christmas tree drying out and catching the drapes on fire to burning down your home while preparing your roast beast.
The article got me thinking, what if there were other dangers during Christmas? What if, aside from falling off your roof while working on your light display and over roasting your chestnuts, there were hidden dangers during the season of advent that most of us overlook.
Over the next 15 days I am going to share my 12 dangers of Christmas. So here we go,
#3 - Shopping Malls
Time is running out, and if you are a procrastinator then this is your time to shine! With one day to go until Christmas Eve let the final count down begin. Malls and discount superstores will be packed to the gills over the next 24 hours with shoppers (mostly men) who STILL need to get that perfect gift for that special someone in their life.
While many people think that gift-giving at Christmas has come as a result of the commercialization of Christmas, the practice of gift-giving can be traced back to the first Christmas by the manger.
Gift-giving was also a part of the Roman holiday Saturnalia. During the middle ages gift-giving was practiced as part of the Christmas season also. Although, in many cases the gift-giving during the Middle Ages was between those engaged in legal relationships. This was primarily limited to the tenant/landowner relationships.
And then there is the jolly big guy who will visit the homes of children all over the world. Gift-giving at Christmas is a tradition that has been well-received in our consumer driver world.
Gift-giving today has spread well beyond the confines of Christianity. Atheists and agnostics also exchange gifts during this holiday season (or month of December).
But for the those celebrating Christmas by exchanging gifts, try to remember that the greatest gift has already been given to us: Emmanuel. If you remember that, hopefully it will take some of the pressure off finding that perfect, last-minute gift you're looking for.
So be careful out there. Hold the door for parents with children. Don't cut in line. And most of all, treat those retail workers out there with some respect. They won't want to deal with your attitude any more than the person behind you in line does.