Grab this blog from somewhere: This is why I dun buy presents for my GF!
Where did the nation's holiday come from? Most tend to believe the history that is spewed forth about them. Today, though, I'll take an alternate look at the most popular holidays and where they REALLY came from.
Christmas:
The birth of Christ is the popularly held belief that is the reason for this holiday. The story is broken down in the bible and through out numerous other tales that have been told through the many thousands of years since this holiday's inception. The alternate belief is rather different though.
Christmas is a holiday invented by a conglomeration of companies to profit from this legend which is retold year after year. From paper companies to toy companies and ranging all the way to candy companies, they assemble each year and consipire how to further profit from the millions of people worldwide to sell their wares to those who celebrate Christmas in a way far different than it was celebrated hundreds of years ago. They sell plastic decorations with light bulds in them to decorate yards and thusly run up enormous electric bills by those who use these decorations. The paper companies sell consumers rolls of brightly colored paper to wrap gifts sold to us by toy companies and, of course, the paper companies dip their dirty fingers into the pie again to sell these same people pre-printed greeting cards proclaiming the joy and well-wishes of the holiday season.
It's a nifty little racket that these companies have worked up so that they can sell their goods to unsuspecting buyers. All done by demeaning what used to be a simple holiday.
Of course, I haven't begun my holiday shopping but I have the huge stockpile of plastic yard ornaments, numerous rolls of brightly colored wrapping paper, multiple boxes of pre-printed holiday greeting cards full of cheery words and pictures and enough strands of Christmas lights to have a yard mistaken for an airport runway.
Valentine's Day:
The legend of St. Valentine is rather unclear to me but I beleive he ran the snakes out of Ireland. To mark his defeat of the Irish snakes, we celebrate with more paper and candy.
This is the holiday that makes single people either sad or angry. It is a day all about love. And chocolate. Love and chocolate. And flowers. Love, chocolate and flowers. And 'valentines'. Love, chocolate, flowers and valentines.
See, it got complicated all of a sudden, didn't it?
You already know who the conspirators behind this day of love, chocolate, flowers and valentines are. The love stems from companies who manufacture stuffed teddy bears wearing shirts with hearts proclaiming 'I Love You' on them. The chocolate portion of this commercialized holiday comes from Nestle. They are a large player in the chocolate racket. Much like mobsters profiteer from the concrete business. Flowers, well obviously the nation's large flower growers are the one who stand to profit. And the valentines, you ask? They are another idea from paper companies in their plan to 'get-rich-quick.'
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I have spent too much time on this one but will definitely revisit it later on when the other commercial holidays creep closer. Until then, think twice about who you are making rich this Christmas season. Keep in mind that $29 DVD players aren't often the quality you would expect. Ask yourself this - what does one get for $29 dollars in 2004? Don't come bitching to me when it turns to dust in three months or breaks your favorite DVD into three equal-sized pieces.
