Cheesy Generic Christmas Trees Proclaim Nothing But A Season to Spend!

When all my out of town  gifts were safely in the hands of the Postal elves, and the gifts for local family and friends were purchased and wrapped, the time had come to seek out the magic of Christmas, without the anxiety of its requisite shopping. I was confident I would find Balsam firs, Christmas carols, toy soldiers, an excess of red bows and the whiffs of winter, all in one place—the nearest Bergen mall!

Nearing the doors of the multi-plex shopping hub, my anticipation skyrocketed. In just a few steps, I was about to experience the special fragrances of Christmas: chestnuts roasting, gingerbread cookies, or a Fraser Fir.

What wafted into the air, instead, was the odor of Chinese, French fries, burgers, and pizza from the food court.

Forsaking the enjoyment of the smells of Christmas for the moment, I forged forward in search of Santa Claus. Unknown to many, in some cultures, Santa Claus is the modern day, stand- in, for the Biblical Wise Men.  The Wise Men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child.  Thus, the Wise Men/Santa Claus is the reason gifts are exchanged at Christmas.

Disappointment weighed heavily!

Refusing to be discouraged, I marched over to the Grand Dame of retailers, traditionally admired for their elaborate Christmas window displays. I thought to myself that even if they lost their political backbone for a crèche, unquestionably, this department store would have at least a major set of Dickens characters, skaters on ice, hundreds of  elves, a store festooned with red ribbon, stockings hung with care, and yards of holly rope—all giant nods to Christmas!

I looked around their first floor.

The only homage to Christmas was a trio of nonspecific topiaries, strategically placed on a display case in the middle of a huge store. Instead of boughs festooned with Christmas ornaments, the faux cone-shaped miscreation had been embellished with blue, green and silver balls.

Faux topiaries embellised with blue, green and silver balls.

Further disregard for Christmas, the balls could be easily replaced with Valentine hearts, St. Patrick’s shamrocks and Easter eggs, perhaps even a Memorial Day flag and surely Thanksgiving corn.

Replace the Christmas ball with Easter eggs!

Disgusted, I thought about where I might find a celebration of the Christmas season.

Surely, one of my favorite towns, with a main street, would deliver Christmas. As I neared the Banchetto Feast Restaurant, the strains of “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” piped into the street. This was accompanied by the smell of a genuine Christmas tree, with real lights, tinsel, ornaments and Alpine wreaths!

Christmas.

Not Shopping The Malls

Regrettably, this year I shopped via the internet and department stores. It is a fiduciary relationship that does not help the hometown shops who do deliver Christmas.

No more!

Next year I will shop in Westwood or Ridgewood, towns whose stores are not so politically correct that they cannot acknowledge anything more than a cowardly, vanilla,expedient Happy Holiday greeting.

Christmas is not a holiday; it is a Holy Day!

There is only one Christmas. It celebrates the birth of Christ.  In the future, my gifts will not be purchased in stores who are seeking to capitalize on Christmas without reference to its existence. Instead, I will shop in stores who acknowledge the reason they want me to shop in their stores.

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