The Run Up ( Or Run Down) to Christmas.
My calender shows that we have 55 days to Christmas. Sure we still have more than the number of days of the Carol that talks of the dozen days and all the goodies my true love sent/ will send to me.
It is the serious start to the planing process and every retailer sees the first day of November as the day that if he or she has not already got the publicity and planning in place, than their Christmas Sales could well be a disaster.
I think Christmas 2009 will be a very pivotal one as it relates to how people perceive their financial health.
There will be the risk takers who will say we should live for today and not care what tomorrow brings.
Then there are those that say Christmas is important, and as a tradition everyone should get their “normal ” presents. Some will scale back the size and numbers of presents especially if there is uncertainty in that givers Job security.
It is interesting how much the Christmas Giving has become convoluted over generations. For many the Birth of Jesus Christ has been relegated into the far distance to what happened on the next day ( Boxing Day) when the servants of the aristocracy were given leftovers wrapped up or left in boxes …hence the naming of Boxing Day.
Many of my readers will recall the famous British Writer Rudyard Kipling best known for the Jungle Book . He was the modern day equivalent of Wilbur Smith and was very wealthy from his writings and subsequent sales of his books..
One day a reporter came to him and said ” Mr Kipling , someone has calculated that all the money you have made from your books comes to $100 a word “. With that the reporter hoping to make a good news story pulled out a $100 note and said ” Here is $100 … now give me one of your $100 words”.
The story goes Rudyard Kipling took the note placed it in his wallet , looked at the reporter , and simply said ” Thanks”.
“Thanks” is indeed a valuable word.But I truly believe it has become trivialized from the word Thank You.
What is even more of concern is the text equivalent of thanks ( thank you )…. Thx.. The x reminds me of the word without. A little like the word Xmas which I call Christmas without Christ.
Sadly as we near 2010 , and in 55 days Christmas 2009 , I find Thank You are words spoken less and less in sincerity than ever before.
Ingratitude is an epidemic in our society , even in the midst of overabundance.
How can we receive so much and yet thank so little.
I will write again soon. I would love to hear your comments!!
Lindsay Walker
01 November 2009.