Has Santa Got Commercialized?

So Santa has come and went. Did you get all that you expected, or were you on his naughty list and he gave you a lump of coal and a cold potato? Well I guess the old ape flew under his radar this year and was still on his good list, as usual I made out like a bandit! How Christmas has changed from yesteryear? Now I feel I am a very a spiritual person, and there is a message attached with Christmas hence forth the first part of Christmas being Christ. Now whether you believe or not you can still feel that Christmas is about family and kids. Getting together with family have a great reason to have a great meal, and one more reason to spoil your kids and or grand kids rotten. Well that is my point I think the message as been lost on this festive time. We all except that certain jobs like essential services have to work on this day. For example Fire fighters, police personnel, Hospital staff should be on this list! As we headed back home on boxing day all full of turkey and wonderment we pulled into a McDonald's before we headed home to scarf down a burger before we head for the open road. To my wife's astonishment McDonald's was open from 10AM to 5PM on Christmas day. My wife comes back to the vehicle in total disbelief for a burger joint to be open on turkey day. My wife says unless they started serving turkey burgers who wants a Big Mac on Christmas day?

Now I explained to her which she already knew the Jehovah Witness religion does not recognize Christmas as they do not believe in Christ or God. She still felt that was not reason enough to serve a Big Mac's on Christmas day. She asked in disbelief who operates this place scrooge himself?AGH!!! Now that brings me to my next point have we lost the point in today's message? Christmas is not about family and fellowship anymore. It is about one of the biggest money making holiday's of the year. Look at boxing day it is an absolute free for all on boxing day as to what can we buy on the cheap for us the greedy little consumers that we are. Back in the day Boxing day was designed for you to return uncle Fred's pink blender that you would have no use for, and get something you really wanted. Now it is a message of shop till you drop and what great deals can we get? I have heard some families even make it an annual event, and do their Christmas shopping on that day when everything is so cheap, and then actually celebrate their own Christmas on the 27th ot 28th. Who do we have to blame for this, the retailer or the consumer? Well without the consumer asking for this or expecting this the retailer is only following the market trend.

Now if you look at the history of the bible Jesus was born depending on the interpretation you except. Some say in the spring around March others think he was born in September, but winter is actually a Pagan holiday noting the time of winter solstice of December 22nd. None the less others say it is a business idea of the end of the year and shop keepers are giving it one last ditch effort to boost the yearly sales before the new year starts.

So is society losing the Christ in Christmas and just going to the commercialization of the holiday? Like I said before I am not a holy roller by any means, but I do think that Christmas is about kids and family with gift giving intertwined in the holiday. It should be not who got what, and how much you can break the bank to keep up with the Jones. With credit cards being so free these days people almost make it a game in some cases to see who can out spend the other just because they can. I ask the question because that person bought me a Rolex make them any better person then if they could only afford a Timex? Is it not about the fact that they were considerate enough to see that I may need or want a watch rather then how much it cost. Some people live on a beer budgets all year so they can have a champagne lifestyle for one day in the year. Personally I would I think that is wrong. As we get over a record setting recession the people who are in banking warn people to live within their means or come the new year we could be in for a whole world of hurt when the bills roll in! Why take till the holidays text year to pay for this Christmas, be inventive. Some call it cheap. I call it thinking outside the box. Make something that you know the person would like. I think gifts like this are better because they show the person you were thinking enough to share your craft with them. If you are not crafty, try making a card inviting the person out to dinner or better yet over to your house cooking them their favorite meal. Go on-line there are many ideas far beyound these few to get your creative juices going. Just remember it is not the price of the gift it is about that fact you thought about them at all.

Well I am going to cuddle up and nurse this cold I got as a gift on Christmas day. Personally that is one gift I would rather take back from the wife. See our generosity is so big here we even give each other our colds. Share and Share alike my Mother used to say. Lol

Until next time remember happiness depends on ourselves.
Happy New Year to all my readers From The Ape Trainer and the crusty old ape may 2010 be all that you wish for!

Cheers From
The Old Ape :-)

Taking Ownership For Your Mistakes!

Here I sit this morning reading my paper over my morning cereal, and I am left wondering what we in society have to look forward to? Is this is the direction that our system is going?
Treatment, not jail, for Manitoba bus beheader; victim's family angry . Then I went a bit further and read this one; Dagenais says he shot back 'as a matter of survival' , then lastly Mountie denies 'cooking up' story after Taser death
.

No one is willing to say "ME Bad! , and I screwed up. Now lets take ownership accept what the punishment is and move on. In some cases it might be; lose public opinion in some cases with the Government, or in the case of taking shots at RCMP officers well that kind of speaks for its self. Just for the sake of argument OK take a shot and hit one officer by mistake, but take a shot, then another , then one more and say;" oh I was not sure where I was shooting"....I call BULLSHIT He knew exactly where he was shooting, and he did exactly what he wanted to do. Now he needs to be a man and own up to what he did, and take his lumps accordingly.

No one can take ownership for their actions! Now when they get to court they will cry they were abused, or came from a bad place, we had this or that happen to them to make them this way. HELLO what happened to you know I screwed up got caught in the heat of the moment. I am an idiot, and deserve to go to jail for the rest of my life or at least be punished for my actions. That is called consequences. Is that not what we teach our kids? Not in this country...If you are a bad cop they will say bad boy! Move him, or maybe make him push paper, if at the very worst fire his ass because he was an aggressive ego maniac that did not deserve to be on the force in the first place! Well if you are Mr. Li he will sit in the nut cracker suite, and if WE are lucky he won't get out again. Contrary to popular belief he will probably pull the wool over the Dr's eyes and be out within 10 or so years even though he is just as crazy as the shit house rat that he was before he went into club med. The assclown in Saskatchewan will just claim he was an abused Metis from past law enforcement, and chances are he will get a soft slap on the hand and sent off to club fed to take a time out. If the system does not fail us,and he actually does get to go away. It will only be away for 25 years which is a joke in its self. How does that constitute someones life? He gets to go home to some family. That is better then the 2 officers get that he put in the ground. WAKE UP PEOPLE WE NEED CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!!!! Take a life... get exterminated! Lets start cleaning out the gene pool before these bad eggs start to pollute the whole thing.

Until next time...*** Remember ***
The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts.

Cheers
From the Big Ape...