CRI听力:Choosing a Christmas Without Presents

Back in 1957, Dr Seuss wrote How the Grinch Stole Chrismas, spurred on by his realization that a lot of people had lost the feeling about what Christmas was about. The Grinch slithers into Whoville and steals all the whole heap of the cute who's decorations and presents. Then he gets up early the next morning, goes out to watch the miserable whos, all upset. But the surprise comes on Christmas morning when all the whos are there and in fact they're not miserable at all. They're celebrating Christmas as joyously as ever, presents or none. And it is at that moment that the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not just just about Christmas. Maybe it's about something just a little bit more than that.

Fifty some years later, Dr Seuss's comment about the meaning of Christmas is more poignant than ever, particularly in China where people have skipped the holiday's religious background entirely and jumped headfirst into the waters of consumerism.

You have to! It's important to take good care of each other. People should give warmth to others.

Yes, you should. Today all of us students are all accustomed to giving presents at Christmas time.

I should send gifts, but not to everyone. The young people send gifts to everybody.

Of course, people across the world equate Christmas with presents. Well, particularly the kids. And this seems to suits China just fine as people bask in their newly found consuming power.

But why then are more and more people in the west choosing NOT to buy presents? More and more people feel that Christmas has become a holiday driven by businesses and advertisers.

For decades, people have been frustrated by toy and clothing companies who sell us the idea that personal happiness comes from buying things.

Ok, they may not say it out loud, but the idea is that if I buy it, I'll be happier, prettier, or more popular. Both business and governments have promoted these ideas, obviously to the benefit of the economy… but not necessarily to our personal well-being.
 
But not quite everybody follows the beat of that drum.

So there was a British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell stated,

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly." And you know, when you look around here at Wangfujing, a popular shopping street in Beijing, can I ask you what's your take on this?

Man: Well, I don't think there's anything wrong in principal with giving gifts to somebody else, but you know, if you look around in a place like this, it definitely seems like it's gone out of control.

The increased amount of shopping at Christmas draws the problems of consumerism into sharper focus. Constant purchasing may be great for the economy, but more and more people find that owning things just makes them want to own more, a vicious circle. Environmental impacts of consumerism are disturbingly well-documented.

Aiming for goals of simple living, living in ways. Trying to send more softly on the environment. And this all ties in with the No presents Christmas.

So people today are trying to focus less on gifts, and more on what really matters: time spent with friends and family. I asked some shoppers what they thought about this radical idea.

-it's ok. You can enjoy it. It's your holiday, not our holiday.

Sure, that's ok. Especially during the financial crisis!

That's the best way! Buying is irrelevant to a family's warmth.

Others take a softer approach, where… hey gifts are okay so long as you didn't buy them. Look, I made you this painting. Here, I baked some cookies for you. Anybody can throw a bit of cash down and buy something, but personally hand-made gifts really have a special feeling that comes with them. Definitely something that can't be purchased in the mall.

So this Christmas season, may you and your loved ones escape the cold, enjoy each others company and warmth, and consider what Christmas is, and isn't about.
 
For CRI, I'm William Wang.