A Fogy View of Christmas.*
So, what does Christmas mean to you?
For many, it is the fulfilment of religious desire or obligation — a moment to give thanks for what has passed and to hope for better things to come.
For others, it is the annual carnival of consumerism: too much money spent on too many things that make very little sense, except that desire and guilt surf the same wave toward a hollow kind of glory.
For some, it is a short but exhausting holiday obligation — time spent with people they barely like, tolerate just enough to survive the encounter, and eat enough in one sitting to feed a hungry village in Sudan.
Then there are the victims of relentless sales propaganda, chasing a Coca-Cola version of Christmas they barely understand, demanding outrageous gifts while testing the limits of Mum's or Dad’s credit card — and their willingness to carry another year of meaningless debt.
Others still see Christmas as a commercial lifeline: the moment companies hope to claw back losses from a gummy year, scraping overloaded warehouses clean in preparation for the next cycle of overproduction.
Commissions, 13th salaries (in Brazil), and bonuses for distinctly mediocre performance are handed out, only to be dissolved into wasteful parties and shallow celebrations — cosmetic victories while real debts and life-changing investments are once again postponed.
Fogy was told during his very first job interview that public holidays like Christmas and New Year’s would no longer exist for him. As a chef, he would be working while everyone else was playing. Was he prepared to accept that?
He smiled and answered honestly: What difference does that make to my life?
Christmas had long since lost its glitter and promise.
For Fogy, Christmas is what people should practise all year round:
Being kind and respectful to others — without expecting anything in return.
The essence of Christmas, stripped of its noise and ornament, is simply this:
Give from the heart.
Celebrate the best in your fellow human.
And stop ignoring those who are genuinely in need — regardless of the date on the calendar.
However you choose to celebrate, have a great one.
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