What Is the Point of Christmas Cards?by
Bill Barnwell I have to admit that there are a lot of things I have a hard time with when it comes to various Christmas customs. I don’t like the pressure of mandatory Christmas shopping, I could deal without the busy shopping malls and long register lines, and I really don’t get the point of Christmas cards. I think people would be better off saving their money instead of sending out dozens of meaningless Christmas cards. Here’s why. The average Christmas card has absolutely nothing to say. Each year I get many cards from friends and acquaintances. I’d say in over 90% of these cards there’s nothing substantial of content or meaning inside of them. All they say is "Merry Christmas" or maybe something about having a happy holiday. Nothing personal. No "hello, how are you doing?" type of message. Nothing along the lines of "I really appreciate your friendship." No, "Here’s what’s going on in my life." Nope, nothing other than "Merry Christmas." And some don’t even have to write those words out themselves. The card already says "Merry Christmas" and they just sign their names at the bottom. What a waste of money. Of course, most people who send out Christmas cards send them out to numerous people. Time is also money and it would take a whole lot of time to write out personal messages to each recipient. The average card sender knows this well. Therefore, they try to compromise by mailing you a card that says virtually nothing inside of it, but let’s you know that you are special enough to receive a card from them. But then there are cranks like me who question the whole Christmas card racket and feel people should just spend their money on something more meaningful. I used to feel bad about feeling this way. I kept my anti-Christmas card sentiments on the inside. I felt bad to throw out the dozens of empty Christmas cards that cost people money to buy and send to me. Even though they had nothing of a personal nature inside of them, I still would keep them and try to find a place for them around my house. That is no more now. A new course has been charted. First of all, there’s no place for all the Christmas cards unless I want my living room to look like a mess. Second, I don’t want my public Christmas card display to look as if I’m trying to make myself feel good to others: "Yeah, I got a lot of Christmas cards this year. What can I say; I have a lot of friends. Yup, I’m pretty special, huh?" These days I only keep and display the Christmas cards that actually say something inside of them. I reward those who put in the hard work of personalizing Christmas cards by displaying them somewhere around my house until Christmas. After Christmas, those cards are thrown out, except for really meaningful cards that are put away somewhere. The collection of such cards over the years is very small numerically, but they do exist. The completely non-personal Christmas cards are simply disposed of immediately after either I or my wife open them and show the other person who sent it. After it has been acknowledged who sent the Christmas card and inner thanks has been given, the card is thrown out. We get the card, we acknowledge that we were special enough to receive it, we give thanks, and then we get rid of it. This may seem unappreciative but it is not. Make no mistake; it’s not mean at all. I very much do appreciate that I am important enough for someone to send me a Christmas card. I do give thanks for each card I receive. But I have yet to find a good system for filing all of these cards. I do not want to be like some of my friends who have lines of Christmas cards up on their walls or TV’s. I know many of them are doing it just to be polite and not just for aesthetic decorating purposes. I can understand lining the cards up on the wall if one is in the hospital or at home recovering and the visual of the cards serve as a form of encouragement to get well. But seeing cards clutter my house during Christmas time, well, it just bugs me. My advice to you all who spend a great deal of money on Christmas cards is just to stop. If you just want to send a hollow card with nothing personal and only a "Merry Christmas," my recommendation is just to make something cheaper on the computer that can look good but cost a lot less money than spending $1–$4 per card. Perhaps just send these types of self-made generic cards to those whom you just want to say "Merry Christmas" to, and if there are people you want to give a more personal and meaningful Christmas card, then send them the nicer Hallmark type cards. I also have a few other friends who make copies of standard letters giving life updates or messages of Christmas cheer that are included inside each card they send out. While not directly written to you, it at least has something to say and is more interesting to read. I know there are many people reading this who feel the way I do. Even today in the mail you are going to open Christmas cards that say nothing inside of them and you haven’t had the courage to just throw them away because inside you would feel ungrateful. Perhaps you too have several weeks of Christmas cards piling up somewhere in your house and you feel trapped by guilt to get rid of them until the day after Christmas (Some of you insist on keeping them until after New Year’s even!). Today could be your moment of courage. You can clean off your desk, kitchen table, wall, or television with a clean conscience. You’re not a bad person because you don’t want all those Christmas cards sitting around. You’re not a bad friend. You really do appreciate them taking the time to include you on their list and send you a card that says "Merry Christmas." But you know inside that the moment after you open that card and read those two words, and/or perhaps just the signature of the person who sent it, that you have exhausted the emotional value of the card. I’m telling you that you are not a bad friend or ungrateful person if you choose to get rid of those cards. My hope is that some of you felt a sense of liberation after reading this. Some of you perhaps will decide to save some money next year by sending out more economical cards, perhaps self made and lower in cost. Others might feel motivated to set aside more time and try to make cards more personal. Still others might feel the sweet liberation of knowing that they can remove from their home cards that do nothing but take up space and have the potential to untidy a home. Whatever the case, I hope this column maybe changed your life for all Christmases to come. And if anyone is reading this who did send me a Christmas card, I really am thankful to be your friend and that you took the time to send me a card. I do hope you can understand where I’m coming from though in regards to how long I keep the card around.
December 23, 2006 Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor and writer from Michigan. He holds both a Master of Ministry degree and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree from Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. You can denounce him for this slightly tongue in cheek column and his Scrooge-like attitude on Christmas customs though email or by visiting his blog. Copyright © 2006 LewRockwell.com |
Of
course, to all readers have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New
Year. I’m sure it will be a merrier one though without all those
cards everywhere.