I went to a convent school from grade 1 to grade 11 in Pakistan. My idea of Christmas was really non-existent. In Pakistan, Christmas Day coincided with the founder of the nation's birthday — Quaid-e-Azam's. And minority rights, celebrations — those were not really a big thing in Pakistan, especially during the '80s when Zia's government basically screwed up most of my childhood.
Coming to Canada was my introduction to what Christmas actually meant. And to add to the joy, I made money from Christmas from literally the day we arrived. We got into the retail business, and man oh man did I love it. I was simply in awe of the concept — tying the religious aspect, marketing, and a bumper retail season (in basically the worst weather ever) all into one. It was genius.
Retail is in my rear-view mirror now, as I "pivot" to other things that excite me. But I can't help but think about Christmas a bit more critically these days.
There's a FreshCo by our house, and the other day I couldn't help but notice cut evergreen spruce trees for sale — $22.99. These bad boys were big. Some of them reaching nine, ten feet. How does that work exactly? You can't get them alive for $22.99, but you can get them dead for your pleasure at that price? They're cheaper dead? Makes no sense. How long does it take for a tree to grow that big? What is the economics behind this? It's like the movie — The Lorax.
Then it started making sense to me. It's all connected. The dead trees were just the icing on the cake. The concept of over-consumerism in a short window — buying more than you can afford, buying items that will never be used or get returned, going into debt with companies charging up to 22% interest, the entire massive industry marketing the season, the movies, the music, the whole concept. Where is the religion here? Where is Jesus Christ? Where is Christianity?
No answers. Just a "ho ho ho and a bottle of rum."
Merry Christmas!
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