Gifts Only One Part Of The Christmas Spirit

"Jesus is the reason for the season." This message has been seen plastered on pins and building banners with growing regularity as Christmas approaches.

It is a reminder that, for Christians, the holiday season is supposed to commemorate the birth of Christ, rather than be an all-out shopping spree.

What's sad is that the message needs to be placed so prominently. Sadder yet, no one seems to pay attention. The commercialization factor keeps eroding at the foundation.

Christmas is supposed to be the second-most religious holiday in the Christian faith. Only Easter ranks above it. However, the ratio of religious significance to religious observation is not equal.

It seems that, here in the United States, Easter retains a greater share of its sense of religious significance, while Christmas continue to deteriorate into a frenzy of commercialized pomp and little circumstance.

Yes, despite the bunny, Easter is still synonymous with the religious experience. Peter Cottontail offers Santa Claus no competition in the commercialization category. With growing regularity, Christmas appears to be nothing more than a superficial opportunity to hit the stores.

Opening wrapped packages. Is this what the holiday season is all about?

Yes.

And it bothers me.

I'm not the first, and I won't be the last, to take a skeptical look at the holiday season. This is not the first time I have felt this way about the setting of Christmas.

Not that it's any different for Halloween, George Washington's Birthday or the Fourth of July.

But Christmas is THE BIG ONE. Nothing is sacred.

This shouldn't matter to me. Because of my own personal religious beliefs, I don't celebrate Christmas. To me, Christmas Day is nothing more than a paid day off, a chance to sleep in and maybe clean up the homestead.

So how can I be affected so adversely by a celebration which, in theory, I should not care about?

Two reasons. The first is that many people across Ogemaw County and Michigan are struggling to make ends meet. Welfare has been cut off. Jobs are scarce. Money is tight.

Yet, there seems to be this obligation, this unseen law, that tells us we have to buy hundreds of dollars of dolls and toys just because it's Christmas.

Why?

Human survival, not buying a toy because "everyone else" is doing it, should be Priority No. 1. If you can't afford the rent, how on earth can you justify shelling out money for Nintendo?

The second reason is the commercial syndrome.

If the advertising was any indication as to what Santa does the other 11 months of the year, it's obvious he's been making commercials and posing for ad campaigns. How else do you explain him riding around in an electric razor? Or checking out the latest in home electronics?

Next thing you know, the Swedish Bikini Team will be riding in St. Nick's sleigh. Ho, ho, ho.

If there's anything good that comes out of these advertising blitzes, it's the creativity of the people who make the sales campaigns. The ads can be funny, they can be fun to watch.

And this, like buying things - whether for ourselves or for others - helps us cope with life, helps us put problems in the back of our minds - if only for the moment.

We like to forget our dilemmas, not just during the holiday season. We would give anything to forget that drunken drivers kill innocent people. That an alleged rape victim in Palm Beach might have been wronged by the system, by the prosecuting attorney. That "average" baseball players are getting $5 million contracts while other individuals starve.

It would be nice if this Christmas day these things did not exist, did not affect us.

But we must put this in perspective. The problems won't go away just because a tree is lit and colorful lights are placed along house frames. To put Barbie dolls, Ninja Turtle weapons and compact discs above religious spirit and human survival is ludicrous and disgusting.

Don't misinterpret this commentary. I appreciate receiving gifts as much as the next person. It is only human nature. And there is nothing in the world like seeing a wide-eyed child thrilled at the site of her new dollhouse, or his new baseball mitt.

But these gifts should be frosting on the cake, not the main ingredients.

I hope Ogemaw residents have a truly happy, safe holiday. Just keep it in perspective. What you might want is fine; what you need is of the essence. If you don't have your needs in place, the "wants" will not matter.

No amount of advertising can change that.

This article originally appeared in the Ogemaw County Herald.

Florida: Fantasyland, No Matter The Type

The flamingo pink neon stood out against the sunset and a backdrop of palm trees along Interstate 75.

vacation had taken me to Florida - the land of spring breaks, surf and tan lines. And, as I quickly discovered, of billboard wars.

Now, the Battle of the Boards was not in and of itself a surprise. The Sunshine State is a battleground for the travel dollar.

But in this case, it was like watching a boxing match unfold. Two businesses - at face value, quite different - fought sign for sign, blink for blink.

You could almost hear the announcer, standing in the center of the ring, a 10-foot stogie sticking out of the corner of his mouth, a heavy Boston accent filtering through his words.

"In this corner, wearing the red trunks, the defending Florida tourist champion, from Orlando, Walt Disney World!"

The crowd goes wild. Kids scream. "Daddy, daddy! I wanna go to Disney World! I wanna see Mickey! I wanna do Space Mountain! I wanna ..."

The announcer continues.

"And in this corner, champion of the male hormone drive, wearing a lot less than the other fighter, from Gainesville, The Cafe Risque!"

The men go wild. They shout such ingenious and creative phrases as, "TAKE IT ALL OFF!"

Let the match begin.

Everywhere on the southbound interstate, these two giants beg and plead for attention. Well, this might not be accurate. It's more like, they flex their muscles and command attention.

Mickey's crew does it more subtly than the Cafe. Large eyes stare at you from the bottom of the billboard, the Mouse King's oversize black ears standing out against a sea of yellow. They are, indeed, the 1990s rendition of "Kilroy Was Here" signs.

Dizzy World is more subtle because, let's face it: the Magic Kingdom has been around a long time. It has the groundwork already laid out. We grew up with Mickey and Pluto, Annette and Cubby, Herbie the Love Bug and 101 Dalmatians.

Because of this track record of pandering to the child at heart, Uncle Walter's dynasty creates fantasies.

Dizzy World is acre upon acre of fantasy, grabbing the soul of our youth and taking us away from the everyday pain and pressure we face.

While Mickey caters to the youth movement, the Cafe gratifies the older generations. In particular, the male portion.

It is the Cafe's larger-than-life advertisements which grab your attention like a comet streaking across the sky. The classic cheesecake blonde, barely dressed, framed by hot pink and lime-green neon, with huge letters screaming, "WE DARE TO BARE ... ALL!"

And not just once or twice. No way. The Cafe has billboards up every half-mile, or so it seems. All heavy on the cleavage. All with the same underlying message.

Located near the University of Florida, located about two hours north of Tampa, the Cafe is open 24 hours and offers a complete menu. You can read whatever you want into that.

The more "righteous" might find it ironic and immoral that these two businesses can be compared so callously. Ironically, both are mentioned in the most recent edition of Playboy - Disney World for being so conservative, it air-brushed cleavage out of a promotional ad; the Cafe, for being ... well, the way it is.

But the truth is, both Mickey and Blondie ultimately use the same tools to sell their wares - fantasies. Even if Annette did her dancing fully clothed.

In this billboard war, both sides are winner.

This article originally appeared in The Ogemaw County Herald.