The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men... The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: ´Merry Christmas´ – not ´Weep and repent´. And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form – by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance…När stockholmare 1968 protesterade mot julens kommersialisering uppgick julhandeln till 12 miljarder kronor i dagens penningvärde. Sedan dess har den femdubblats, och konsumtionskritiken är inte alls lika högljudd. Allt var inte bättre förr.
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying…stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street-decorations put up by the department stores and other institutions – the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors – provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ´commercial greed´ could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
Har jag glömt Jesus från Nasaret? Han föddes i juni. Och redan vikingarna firade midvinterblot.