As a frugal Scot, brought up to wait until I could afford anything I wanted to buy, the only major debt I've incurred was our mortgage. I'm therefore horrified by the pre-Christmas advertising campaigns encouraging people to spend, spend, spend - and pay later. The impression created is that Christmas isn't Christmas without shop bought canapes, over packaged toys, liver pickling quantities of alcohol ...
Christmas is a time for celebration - to eat, drink and be merry - but by keeping it simple it's possible to have a good time, without breaking the bank.
The photograph is of my dinner tonight. As part of my countdown to Christmas I've prepared an inventory of my the contents of our freezer and we're eating our way through it to make space for Chinese pancakes, mince pies, soups, bread etc. Today I had a chickpea and potato stew served with rice, roasted tomatoes and olives and a dollop of yoghurt.
I'm fully in agreement. it's how I was brought up too!
ReplyDeleteCelebration is a frame of mind. If you are in the right frame of mind, you need very little to enable you to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI wonder joyful gratitude is a good definition. In which case it is perhaps because people have no join in their lives and see no reason to be grateful that they hope that buying more will help them celebrate.
My parents were very much into spending, drinking & partying at Christmas... As far back as I remember, I yearned for just a simple, quiet family time & found exactly that with our own family. Cherishing time together is far more important to us, there's no stress, no fancy presents - just simple food & fun.
ReplyDeleteKay :)
Thank you all for your interesting observations. I particularly agree with Karin's analysis. Advertisers prey on our insecurities promising elusive happiness. I'm glad that Kay and Sime have discovered simple pleasures and are sharing them with their children.
ReplyDelete