Picketing Christmas

Three years ago, over the Thanksgiving Holiday, our family visited Salt Lake City for a reunion. One of our nights there, we made a trip downtown to see the lights and to absorb the festive mood. On the street between the Crossroads mall and the ZCMI Center we were met by a group of angry picketers. They were yelling out unintelligible phrases and marching around with signs which seemed have a general "say no to Christmas" message.

I admit to being a little scared. No one likes to cross a picket line right? But we had to make it across the street which meant we had to pass right through the middle of their craziness. I huddled close to dh and tried not to make any eye contact with them (something I had become pretty good at after living in NYC for a few years). I'm one of those people who enjoys Christmas and I feared they may see that on my face, making me a clear target for their rage.

As we barreled through the crowd, a small, half-sheet of paper was shoved into my face. I took it not wanting to make the crowd more angry and hurried on my way. A block down the street, I finally decided it was safe to take a glance at their propaganda before tossing it into the corner trash can. What I found on that poorly copied, already rumpled piece of paper completely surprised me.

It had the heading of "Simplify Your Holidays".

Now that didn't seem too crazy. Most people want to simplify the holidays, right?

The flyer started with a stat that said 3 out of 4 families in the US would like to make the holiday season less materialistic this year and focus more on the things money can't buy.

Sure, I'm down with that.

The flyer then went on to list numerous ideas on how to have a more meaningful Holiday. The group's purpose was to encourage people not just to simplify, but to be more conscious of their Christmas gift giving practices to ensure a meaningful, memorable and fun holiday with your family (with an end goal of creating a lifestyle that will ensure a healthy planet for future generations instead of completely buying into the commercialism that surrounds us).

It all sounded good to me. Their list of practical ideas were really inspiring. I was a little surprised to find myself agreeing with a crowd that I had so recently tried so hard to avoid.

Thank you angry picketer for shoving this piece of paper in my face. And thank you to my curiousity for making me take a second to read what it said.

Every year since my run in with the Christmas Picketers, I stop by the group's website and take a look at their ideas. While they don't take a "Christ-centered" approach to the season (which is hopefully my ultimate goal), it's still another reminder for me to my focus my energy on the things that really matter and the site is filled with practical tips on how to make it happen in a more universal, social and globally minded way.

Some years I do better than others implementing the ideas that help me and my family have a the kind of holiday celebration we want. I wholly appreciate the time, thought and passion this group has put into helping people focus on a less materialistic holiday and find more quality time connecting with their family (they also have lots of other non-holiday related ideas that are great too - like lessening your junk mail).

Though I still wonder if an angry picket line was the most effective way they could have chosen to share their good message. I also wonder how many other good messages never make it to a large audience because they come from what might be perceived as "angry activists".