DAY 3 OF 10: SHOULD CHRISTMAS BE CELEBRATED?
Updated: Dec 24, 2018
In the eastern side of the map (i.e. Philippines, etc), Christmas comes the next day. For my audience in the Western map, it will be another day of wait. While Christmas is one of the biggest celebrated event in the world, there may be some people who would have arguments if Christmas should be celebrated or not. For disclaiming purposes, this is an argumentative article; and there is no side I am declaring. Also, I am not the "Grinch", I just like to write. Welcome to day 3 of my 10 day writing challenge!
To begin with, according to abcnews.go.com, the average American will spend $700 on holiday gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion, the National Retail Federation estimates. This is a big number in comparison to the net that Americans spend in year. United States is a world trend setter or a very influential country. Someone may argue that if this money could be saved and be spent in optimizing the overall health of its people, or maybe put it towards education to move on from poverty. One may debate that Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of the Savior; therefore, money is not an issue. This arguments do not just stop there, many people may also argue that people on or below the poverty line may not even afford Christmas. Another counter argument is that Christmas is all about "giving"; however, in regards to human justice with the issue of poverty, it can be impossible to give everyone gifts with monetary value. Celebration of Christmas can be arguable because of individuals' different arguments in regards to economic reasoning.
Another point is the day of Christmas celebration can be debatable. It is known to many that the 25th day of December is "Christmas Day". It is celebrated all over the world and even declared as Statutory Holiday for many countries. In the story of Christmas, it is said that: "In the hills and fields outside Bethlehem, shepherds looked after their sheep through the long night." This provides a clue that Christmas may not be in a cold season and suggests that birth of Christ is in the spring season since there were shepherds looking after their sheeps. According to whychristmas.com, "the first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December." Many would still argue that the declaration of the Pope of the Catholic Church is debatable.
Should Christmas still be celebrated December 25? What happens if Christmas is celebrated in a different time of the year?
Last but may not be the last point is regarding the morality of Christmas. Earlier mentioned, not many people can afford to celebrate Christmas. Some medical statistics shows that many people suffer from depression specially in holiday seasons like this. There are too much festivity that some people can end up feeling depressed. It is notable specially in Northern America for people to have the blues in festive season like this. This results in more money being spent on antidepressants. While Christmas is the time of the year that suppose to cheer people up, one may argue that if Christmas is not celebrated, then there will be more stability with people's health; therefore, resulting in an overall happy nation.
"If we should not celebrate Christmas, then what if Christmas is celebrated everyday instead?"
Additionally, for many people, Christmas is the celebration of gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, feasting etc. (wiki). This tradition has been on going for centuries. Christmas is valued well by many people as an important part of their lives. Despite of arguments regarding Christmas, the majority will stick with this tradition that has been running for centuries.
This concludes the third day of my 10-day writing challenge. Thank you for taking time to read. Tomorrow is another day.