Last year my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told them they didn’t need to get me anything. I no longer celebrated Christmas. I’ve grown tired of the rampant consumerism associated with a holiday season that originally came about because humans were simple thankful they had survived another frigid, harsh winter. Although I have no problem with people celebrating any of the winter holidays, I can say my life has been amazingly less stressful during this time of the year. Meanwhile others bustle around to buy gifts, half of which well end up in a storage bin anyway.

Diamonds are not rare and their use in marriage proposals is a recent one. De Beers was the originator of the idea that “A diamond is forever,” and through decades of marketing campaigns, they drilled this idea in the psyche of Americans and eventually the world . In the same way, the collective marketing of world industries has turned the Holiday season into one of global consumerism.

Although zealots decree their holiday should be brought back to its origins, they do so ignoring the fact that that story of Jesus in the Bible is not original, but an amalgamation of several other gods such as Krishna from Hinduism . All the while, many of them still hold to the religious beliefs of buying new flat panel TVs, expensive jewelry and smart phones as part of their holiday celebration.

It is a very funny thing how the phrase “…in order to be perfect, sell all your possessions and give all your money to the poor ,” is selectively forgotten or disregarded by those who worship the originator of the statement. As with professional sports and the twenty-four hour news networks, purchasing and consumption have become their own belief system; complete with passionate fervor, zealots, sacrifices and a holiday.