Charitable Exchanges
Christmas is a delightful holiday, a very special time of year, during a very dark season of cold and scant appearances of the sun. The sublime music of the season transports the listener with pleasure. The colourful displays of lights and the light-hearted expectation in the 'season of joy' encompasses the entire society, not only those who are of Christian belief. The happiness of children in anticipating fun and gifts and being surrounded by loving family members is immeasurable.
Of course there's a certain amount of pure drudgery involved in Christmas preparations. Not for the faithful doughty who regard baking and cooking and preparations to accommodate visiting family members, necessarily, but the personal obligations that the Christian community takes on to shop and purchase gifts for everyone.
Gifts - that people fortunate enough to live in a country like Canada are not required, because we're short of anything we need, but because we splurge generously toward those we love. These are 'feel-good' gifts, gifts meant to instill a sense of comfort and happiness, as though by the presentation of these gifts, it is proof-positive that people are loved and appreciated by those who present them.
Retailers embark on a frenzy of advertising, of retail coercion, advertising special sales and bonuses for the discriminating shopper. People become trapped in the mind-set that it is incumbent upon them to spend recklessly. Big ticket items and public relations enticements entrap the unwary consumer who tends to think in terms of "Christmas comes but once a year", and as a result they must be prepared to spend big - and spend the rest of the year paying for those expenditures.
Those expenditures are a necessary component, it is felt, to properly celebrating Christmas.
Of course there is also a charitable component, and at this time of year countless charities chime in to exhort Christmas revellers to remember the need of those less fortunate. Usually people do remember to send charitable donations to the charities of their choice.
On the other hand, this is also a winter of financial difficulties for many families. People who have lost their jobs, and who are just managing to squeeze by, with help from the municipality. The Ottawa Christmas Exchange has advised that its services are in such high demand this year, and matched with fewer donations from area residents, they're hard put to see how they'll be able to accommodate all the requests for food and assistance to families.
The United Way has raised a whopping $32.3 million in its 2010 fundraising for the community, just short of its target, which it will likely still reach. The problem is that because a record number of agencies are clamouring for support, even that amount of money will not be sufficient to cover community needs.
The simple fact of the matter is that people who once lent a hand in supporting such community agencies that reach out to those in need, are now themselves in need. What is seen in Ottawa is being reflected across Canada, with unemployment becoming a chronic problem in these times of a jobless economic recovery.
People who do have jobs and comfortable incomes find themselves suddenly responsible for assisting family members who are in dire financial straits, and their once-comfortable incomes are being stretched further than they might have imagined. Leaving, of necessity, less to be parcelled out at this time of year and throughout the year, for charitable enterprises.
Of course there's a certain amount of pure drudgery involved in Christmas preparations. Not for the faithful doughty who regard baking and cooking and preparations to accommodate visiting family members, necessarily, but the personal obligations that the Christian community takes on to shop and purchase gifts for everyone.
Gifts - that people fortunate enough to live in a country like Canada are not required, because we're short of anything we need, but because we splurge generously toward those we love. These are 'feel-good' gifts, gifts meant to instill a sense of comfort and happiness, as though by the presentation of these gifts, it is proof-positive that people are loved and appreciated by those who present them.
Retailers embark on a frenzy of advertising, of retail coercion, advertising special sales and bonuses for the discriminating shopper. People become trapped in the mind-set that it is incumbent upon them to spend recklessly. Big ticket items and public relations enticements entrap the unwary consumer who tends to think in terms of "Christmas comes but once a year", and as a result they must be prepared to spend big - and spend the rest of the year paying for those expenditures.
Those expenditures are a necessary component, it is felt, to properly celebrating Christmas.
Of course there is also a charitable component, and at this time of year countless charities chime in to exhort Christmas revellers to remember the need of those less fortunate. Usually people do remember to send charitable donations to the charities of their choice.
On the other hand, this is also a winter of financial difficulties for many families. People who have lost their jobs, and who are just managing to squeeze by, with help from the municipality. The Ottawa Christmas Exchange has advised that its services are in such high demand this year, and matched with fewer donations from area residents, they're hard put to see how they'll be able to accommodate all the requests for food and assistance to families.
The United Way has raised a whopping $32.3 million in its 2010 fundraising for the community, just short of its target, which it will likely still reach. The problem is that because a record number of agencies are clamouring for support, even that amount of money will not be sufficient to cover community needs.
The simple fact of the matter is that people who once lent a hand in supporting such community agencies that reach out to those in need, are now themselves in need. What is seen in Ottawa is being reflected across Canada, with unemployment becoming a chronic problem in these times of a jobless economic recovery.
People who do have jobs and comfortable incomes find themselves suddenly responsible for assisting family members who are in dire financial straits, and their once-comfortable incomes are being stretched further than they might have imagined. Leaving, of necessity, less to be parcelled out at this time of year and throughout the year, for charitable enterprises.
Labels: Charity, Economy, Family, societal failures, Values
posted by Pieface @ 6:38 PM
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