I just wrote a very serious blog post, but I decided to save it til after the holiday season. I can see that people are in a party mood, which is a good thing. Even though Christmas and New Year’s come in well after Halloween and Valentine’s in my own Holiday ratings, it is a good time to see family and friends.
What’s not so good is the shopping Frenzy out there. With Canadian’s personal indebtedness at an all-time high, do we need to spend a lot more money on a lot more stuff? And do we need the stress of near-impossible parking and shopping mall line-ups?
In my Swedish family, present-giving has always been important. My mother, for one, always made beautiful packages for carefully chosen books or home-made textiles, a tradition now kept up by my sister Eva.
I like giving presents too, but I can’t stand Christmas shopping, and I have a system to avoid it. It’s the Present Cupboard. (Comes in handy for birthdays too.) All year, as I travel – or even just walk around town – I keep my eyes open for good presents. Although I won’t turn down a good sale with reduced prices, I have a big preference for buying things directly from people who make them, so I know where the money is going.
It seems to me this is more important than ever these days when arts and crafts are under attack from governments. If you buy something from a local artist or artisan, you are helping them stay alive and keep doing what they do best. There are also the special stores which sell fair trade presents, a great way to support cooperatives in poor countries. Many NGOs also sell fair-trade presents on-line.
And then there are great ways to contribute to good causes around the world, and ear-marking your donation as a present for a friend. This is mostly what I’ll do this year, because this has been such a terrible year for the people of Haiti.
So I will buy most of my ‘presents’ from Doctors Without Borders – you can buy cholera medicine, or pay for a day’s salary for a nurse or doctor. And I’ll make a contribution to Democracy Now!, for its great alternative news coverage totally independent of the multinational corporations who own most of the other media. ATSA is another excellent (and local!) group of engaged artists and citizens.
Boring, too ‘politically correct,’ moralistic? Some commentators in the mainstream media think so. If you asked the doctors on the frontlines in areas stricken by disaster, I think there perspective would be different.
Joyeuses fêtes!
God Jul och Gott Nytt År!
Feliz Navidad!
Happy holidays to all!
Thanks to Tobi Elliott for her help with this blog.
