Let's take a look at how the festive season has changed over the years as we head into the final countdown to Christmas Day!
Ipads, iPhone 7’s, 4K TV’s, Xbox One game consoles or flying remote controlled drones; these are the must haves on everyone’s Christmas wish list this year.
Christmas Is Shopping
The high street is jam packed with people scouring every possible shop for the very best deal on each item, wading through the sales trying to make sure that their loved one gets the present they desire. As you walk past each shop, enduring the piercing cold winds and the constant dreary drizzle of rain, you are thrust upon enticing window displays of Christmas propaganda pleading for you, a potential customer, to come into the warm and spend your hard-earned money on their merchandise. Of course all major credit and debit cards are accepted just in case you aren’t carrying enough cash for their vast assortment of potential gifts.
Walking back to your car, feeling like a pack mule carrying your own body weight in shopping bags, you pass other shoppers in a similar situation and as you pass by you both eye each other up in secret competition to see who has more presents.
Without Even Going Outside
Conversely, you can sit in the comfort of your own home, sip some delicious tea grown in the Darjeeling region of India that you bought down the road from your local supermarket, and surf the web on your touch screen tablet that your family bought for you last Christmas in an attempt to ‘bring you into the 21st Century!’
At the simple click of a button or tap of a finger that Xbox One game, that football one, that your grandson has been dying to get could be on its way to you, already wrapped! Furthermore, while browsing on Amazon or eBay, you could come across the latest digital camera, much cheaper than the high street, perfect for your granddaughter who is about to go to Australia for a year travelling.
From the cosiness of your favourite armchair, all your Christmas shopping will be delivered to your door step and you didn’t even have to spend an age queuing behind a hoard of people.
How Things Have Changed
Christmas seems to have come so far in the last 50 years. Trying to imagine a world without mobile phones, computers or flat screen TV’s is difficult to picture, but for many reading this it would be quite a vivid memory to conjure up.
The 1950’s and 1960’s seems a lifetime ago in terms of changes in culture and society, and it was a far simpler time. It was a time where people took the time to write letters or post cards to each other as it was one of the only forms of communication. A time where family members would arrive on the train rather than by car, and a time where family members would sit around a table talking and not in front of a TV watching the Christmas specials.
A family huddles together in front of the glowing fire place as their grandmother softly sings a festive tune, grandfather puffs away on his pipe while rocking his head to the melody and the children sit, listening blissfully - a typical Christmas Eve in the 60’s.
Christmas time was centralised around family who hadn’t seen each other all year, sitting and talking, partaking in domestic duties while the children played together. Presents didn’t play a huge part in Christmas. Children would get a present from each family member, possibly such as an Action Man which was the toy of the year 50 years ago, in 1966 – a far cry from a Call of Duty game on PlayStation or Xbox One today!
Give It Time
As times change, and so does culture and society, we can be sure that Christmas will remain.Perhaps in 50 years time we will celebrate with a holographic Christmas tree for families to sit around while the children play on the ceiling with the ‘toy of the year’ – Moon Boots.
Happy Christmas from everybody here at Carelink24!
