Christmas: Out of the Home and into Cyberspace

by Lyndi Lawson

Like everything else in the world, Christmas in 2007 is in an online affair, particularly for the 20 to 30 some-things among us. The days of trawling crowded malls for gifts and wrapping, and tape and cards are over. In these consumerist domains, we have been replaced by teeny-boppers in search of a little Christmas ‘spirit’ and the oldies for whom ‘online shopping’ is still a dirty word. And while real gifts are bought and sold online, there is also a growing culture, evolving out of social networking and email, of intangible communication, particularly over the festive season. 

With such dazzling Christmas trees available as Facebook apps, who needs a real one that requires dismantling after the festivities of New Year? Much easier to just press ‘delete’ on the 12th day. Cyber gifts too, are a growing trend, leaving little room to worry over spending good money on an unwanted gift. Why spend hours handwriting Christmas cards that will eventually end up in a bin somewhere, when an e-card takes half the time? And why print photographs detailing Aunty May’s Christmas indiscretions with the whisky bottle or cousin Tom’s run in with the mall Christmas elf, when these will do better saved in the recesses of a hard drive and posted on a Facebook or Flickr profile in the great cyber abyss.

On the one hand, an online Christmas is definitely a step in the right direction regarding saving the environment. When one considers how many cards have not been bought, how many presents have not bee wrapped and how much fuel has been saved by people not travelling to their local mall 7 times a day. On the other hand, there is something sad about the loss of Christmas and the victory of technology. Elderly parents will never again shed a tear over their grown children’s faded handwritten wish-lists from their youth gone by (I’m sure there’s a website for that now). The smell of pine will cease to penetrate the corners of homes, and the malls, with Boney M blaring in the background slowly will run dry of shoppers, imbued however unwillingly with goodwill and Christmas cheer.

I, for one, (although admittedly I have not year written a card yet this year) will be glad to make the trek cross country, home to my

for an old world Christmas with a real pine tree, home-made mince pies; a real letter from Father Christmas, and (for the sake of the numerous grandchildren) a pile of ‘reindeer droppings’ collected by my die-hard Christmas enthusiast parents from the local nature reserve on Christmas eve. 

Wishing a wonderful and real festive season to all. Be safe.

2007/12/24 | permalink | comments (1) | trackbacks (0)

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