In search of a Christmas Card

Dear Friend,

You know that I have never failed to send a Christmas card to you all these years. It was always fun and excitement every December to go to the nearby store and buy over a hundred Christmas cards to send to all friends and relatives. I remember that, during my school days, I used to spend the entire pocket money for buying Christmas Cards. As I moved to college, and with increased number of friends, I found the ‘card buying project’ too expensive. I started getting them printed with my own wordings and Christmas picture from the printer’s collections in black and white. Later internet made it easy to send e-cards. I got bored with 123greetings and started sending customized email greetings. Telecom revolution has made short messages through phones cheaper and thus I started sending Christmas messages through SMS.

This time, initially I planned to send greetings through the India Post snail mail. Usually during Christmas, the India Post circulates Christmas stamps and special Inlands. But, the officials at the General Post Office said that they haven’t got such stuff this time. So I went looking for Christmas Cards to Archies store and a few other shops. And I was disappointed!

What is the reason for my disappointment? For that, let us go through the transitions in Christmas Cards over a period of time.

During my Childhood

Symbolism: Beautiful Christmas cards with a colourful picture of Jesus, Mary, Shepherds,    Three Wise Men, sheep, cows, and trees in the background.

         Social Pathology: No visible indication

Animals and Greens missing, by the time I was in my teens

   Symbolism: Accompanying flora and fauna missing in the card 

   Social Pathology:   Represents a depleted ecosystem

Mary and Joseph missing as I became a young man

Symbolism: Slowly, Mary and Joseph found missing in Christmas cards. Mother Mary, who was the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12:1-6), and the one who ‘found favour with God’ (Luke 1:26-38) for being the mother of God’s son (Luke 1:43) was intelligently pushed aside as unimportant. She not only received the Holy Spirit but also carried the Holy Spirit with her (Luke 1:41) and was the chosen intercessor ( John 2:1-12) and all generations call her blessed (Luke 1:48).

Social Pathology: Emergence of individualism and the declining value and relevance of family. Neglect and disregard of the elders. 

Santa joins Jesus in my prime youth

Symbolism: Santa joined the Christmas celebrations. As waves of consumerism engulfed people of all strata, Santa symbolized everything that does not belong to Christ and the way and life He suggested. While Jesus wanted everyone to be a giver and not a taker, Santa created a lifestyle that centre around maximization of returns to oneself ensuring minimum cost in the giveaways.

Social Pathology: Productivism, Conspicuous consumption, Commodity fetishism, and materialism

Santa displaces Jesus

Symbolism: The symbolic image of Christ was removed from the Christmas card, considering such a card conventional and orthodox. Jesus Christ lost mass appeal. How can one keep the image of a God who argued against material comforts, greediness, amassing of wealth, and indulgences (Luke 12:13-21) and who advocated loving one’s enemy (Mathew 5:43), embracing the weak, meek and the sick? (Mathew 5: 3-10) Jesus Christ and his impractical and idealistic principles were found to be obstacles in the journey to prosperity, merry making and freedom in a competitive economy and in the cooperative exploitation of all sources that give instant pleasure.

Social pathology: Globalization and consequent transnational movement of ideas, cultural ethos, goods and services facilitated by communication revolution have transformed the lifestyles of individuals across the globe. Santa emerged as the icon of extravagance, opulence, and pride, all opposed to the contentment, simplicity, and humility Jesus represented and advocated.

Christ got an apt replacement that symbolized the modern materialistic world. Christmas and Christmas cards glorified Santa and red nosed reindeer.

Many believed that Christmas is Santa’s birthday.

And now Christmas is out and the party is in!

Add caption

Symbolism: Christmas means pleasure and partying

Social Pathology:  Opposition to anything that advocates restraint, equity, welfare, peace, and solidarity.

Santa is losing its glamour. Now, it is the time of blondes and brunettes on Christmas Cards!

Symbolism: From normative society to an audacious and open society where relationships are blurred

Social Pathology: Instant gratification, rat race, and window dressing

What would be next?

sibi-cyberdiary

(Google images used in the post have been customized by me)

Moral of the story

Jesus Christ, who born in a manger in a carpenter's family chose his friends from the poorest of the poor, sick people and sinners. He said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. I give you everlasting peace'.   He said: (Mathew 5: 3-10), 

• Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
• Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. 
• Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. 
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
• Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. 
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 
• Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Commentaries on underlined words can be seen here)

Wishing you dear friend, joy, peace and happiness on this Christmas, New Year and years to come!

And here is my Christmas Card for you designed by someone decades ago!

You may like to read my past Christmas posts

Another Christmas sans Christ (2011)

The Spirit of Christmas (2010)

For posting comments, click 'COMMENTS' below

Link to recent articles, in case you missed.

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About the recent trip to Kerala

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Inhuman act: But do not write off Air India

The low cost window dressing of life

Consumer Diary


By Sibichen K Mathew

People get attracted towards those yellow tags in shopping malls which signify discounted rates. Eyes get stuck on the big percentage symbols on the glass planes of shops and show rooms. This is basic human tendency. People want to get a good bargain for their money. The rational man takes emotional decisions with absolute conviction that he is being benefited from the choice. He thinks the decision is rational. But the behaviour is often propelled by emotions rather than sanity. But I have a friend who never picks up anything from a ‘SALE’ labeled rack. The reason is obvious. He happened to be a retailer himself.




Who can assist a customer in judging an offer? His friends or relatives? Yes, if one has the time and the proclivity to engage in such discussions after finding a domain expert who has either burned his fingers or gained a fortune. Recently, I came across a website which boasted to be an exclusive one for the protection of the interests of consumers. Started browsing the web with lot of expectations and in no time the hidden agenda became quite clear. Another smart advocate!

On one Sunday afternoon, I received a call from my best friend informing that his dad passed away after prolonged illness. I need to rush for the funeral as I knew his dad too closely since my school days. I was quite fortunate to get a ‘low cost’ ticket of an airline for the same day evening. The flight took off, though about two hours behind the schedule, without any apology from any one. And it didn’t bother me much, so also others. After all, that huge ‘state of the art’ airline agreed to take many of us, though we paid only a very meager sum. Just after it reached high skies and passenger belts were about to be removed, the announcement came: ‘The plane is returning back to airport as there is a technical snag’. Sensing the unpleasant response from the passengers, the crew announced that the flight will take off after rectifying the problem immediately. Within twenty minutes, the flight landed back and a few technical personnel rushed inside. Nothing heard from the crew for next half an hour and passengers’ murmurs turned to mild shouting. None knew where those hostesses were hiding. It seemed that they have been instructed not to provide even drinking water to the low cost desi commoner. One male crew came from no where and announced his relief package: ‘passengers will be accommodated in a flight of another airline’. All passengers rushed down with the hand baggage and headed to the terminal to pick up the checked-in luggage. We were shocked to receive very rude treatment and response from the ground staff who said they cannot arrange tickets for any other airline as all of us are on low cost tickets. The airline had trained their ground staff (all tall, hefty men - reminded of the loan recovery goons of some private banks) to take care of the grievances and complaints of passengers in such circumstances. They did their job well. No one among the passengers could put up a brave fight against the polished goons. Beggars have no choice. Low cost passengers are underprivileged category for the airlines. We stood in another long queue to get back paltry refunds net of taxes and fee. As mine was a booking through credit card, counter staff gave me an advice that if the refund is not credited back to the account within the next three months, then register a written complaint with all evidences. I helplessly rushed to the counters of other airlines to buy a fresh ticket for another airline. But again joined a long queue for another low cost airline! After all, we -the proletariats repeatedly try our fortune in spite of many tough lessons of life. In fact, rational man should decide not to ‘go air’ with such low cost offers!

Businesses cash-in on the superficial rationality of customers by presenting equally shallow but attractive top ups. Thus the so called scientific cost-benefit analysis given by the business propagandists quickly satisfies the customer’s quench for a good deal. He lands in the trap to realize the folly much later. How will one choose a product or a service among a set of alternatives? One may argue that only the first timers will go by the propaganda of the provider. The customer will learn to take the right choice after a few deals. It is very true as per the common dictum that ‘no body can be fooled for long’. However can one indulge in such experiments if the stakes are very high?





Are all consumers fools? In a way, they are. Because the growth of our economy squarely depend on how much people consume. Therefore growth is made to sustain through various sops for the consumers. As far as the terms like purchasing power parity and conspicuous consumption are left in the seminar halls, there is nothing much for people to grudge about. Are they getting a good deal in the competition driven economy? Did you ever think that you could call up your relative in the other part of the world almost free? Did you ever imagine that someone would offer you a one rupee air ticket? However, please don’t cheer too much. The bubbles are bursting one by one. Everything started from thousands of ambitious consumers who took cheap credits to acquire over priced goods. The chain reaction is on. Consumers beware! Economy is at your mercy to save the world out of recession. Let us pray. Lord, let me not get lured away by the window dressers and by those gifts with long strings attached. I am too happy if the left side matches with the right side in the balance sheet of life.