Christmas :: The Brand

Christmas 06 is nearly a memory. For those of us who have some time off... it kind of continues... at least until New Year's Day (and the 2nd Jan if you are a Scot - where else do you get a day off to recover from a hangover???)

Anyway... I thought this was interesting... and a wee bit sad, to be honest.

CHRISTMAS may be many things to many people, but to those who care about commercial design it is one thing above all: a tired brand, as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola and Kleenex but badly in need of an update.

/...The “x.mas” label would function not only as a template for Web sites — a new domain would be created alongside .com, .net, .org and others — but also as the cool new way of referring to Christmas, a 21st-century spin on the stingy old Xmas abbreviation. In addition, anyone wanting to create a Web site infused with Christmas spirit — or for that matter the spirit of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the solstice or other observances — could use the .mas designation, “mas” coming from the Anglo-Saxon for “feast day” and, while certainly ecclesiastical, easily fungible.

A design consultancy, Pentagram, has some ideas on how to refresh the Christmas brand for the 21st century.

I like trees and decorations and lights... mince pies and turkey and music... they make me feel all Christmassy! But the thing is... we need to strip back Christmas and, dare I say, give it away.

Christmas is a time of goodwill and family and enjoyment... its about telling folk how much you love them... so far, so good...but for most people that's where it ends. For me Christmas is far more... it is a time to consider the fact that God as Man was born poor to ordinary parents. Its the start of the journey... one that finishes on the cross and restarts at the tomb.

Christmas will still be Christmas for me without all the trappings or presents.

That's why I say we should give it away... Let people celebrate their feasting and consumption... Give people their own festival - call it Saturnalia or whatever... and let's take Christ and celebrate His birth in a way that can't be usurped or stolen or ripped off by marketers.

Read the whole article here :: NY Times

U*P*D*A*T*E
I've been mulling over this all day and I've changed my mind. We are called to be salt and light... and present a real alternative to the culture we exist within. We are in this world of ours but do not need to belong to it... to think like it.

So I would like to take back Christmas... and present a suitable alternative to emptiness of Christmas without the baby boy. We celebrate because we are free! and where does this freedom come... from that wee we'an born in the most humble of situations.

So lets all celebrate at this time... but me and mine have more to celebrate.

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