Dudley,

meanwhile, was coun2ng his presents. His face fell. Thirty-six, he said looking up at his mother and father. Thats two less than last year.
Christmas. The one time of the year where we all get along with each other in the name of holiday spirit right? Wrong, unless by holiday spirit you mean our constant demand for more and more things we dont really need. Honestly, how many of us really know what the true meaning of Christmas is? In Italy, only 44% of people actually attend church on a regular basis and even fewer in the States and Britain. If this is the case then why do most of us celebrate Christmas at all if it holds no real value for us? The simple answer is presents and food. We are the generation thats obsessed with stufHing our faces and minds with total rubbish that doesnt beneHit us in any way. Oh, you have an iPhone 5? Tell us again about how its helping you to get into a good university? We could mention the fact that iPhone does not get underlined in red when typed in to Microsoft word: we live a society run by advertisements and the constant demand for new, unimportant things that will soon be yesterdays news literally the next day. So come Christmas Day what do we really care about: the fact that Aunt Jemima has Hlown all the way from New Zealand to see us, or the fact that there are presents waiting under the Christmas tree? In total the world spent about $228.4 billion on Christmas last year. Thats enough to feed 5,768,000,000 children in Africa for a year. Still feel like complaining about how last year you didnt get everything you wanted? Christmas allegedly celebrates the birth of Christ. Shouldnt it be a day filled with love and hope? But, ironically, most of the things we associate with Christmas are based on consumerism. Even Santa Claus (the epitome of Christmas giving), for example, never used to be a chubby man dressed in red. In fact, that was invented by Coca Cola as an endorsement for people to buy their product. We can only come to the conclusion that Christmas no means what it once did. And what value it does have decreases each year as our obsession with materialism is fuelled by the manufactures of consumer products. Maybe this Christmas you wont count how many presents youve received, but how many days you went you have privileged to live without facing starvation or having to live on the streets.