Come on, people!

[navinator]

Don't get me wrong.
I requested to work on Stats holidays. I could use the money, and it isn't like I have anything else to do.

What I am really ranting about is how people doesn't seem to have anything to do other than shopping. It is like, their entire life revolves around material and nothing else. Whatever happened to spend time with family? Spending time doing anything else? Or no one really does that anymore? It just seem like.. oh well it prolly has been ranted so many times before, just all the spirits is lost. As Tobias was saying. Like, nothing is really worthwhile unless it involve material. I just find that sad. And a little frustrating because many of these people have loving family and friends that they can spend time with, instead they go out and fight random people for stuff to stuff a cupboard.

...
Yes.

[Venus]

Well that is true..people rely way too much on materialism..and it is quite sad when there are loving families to spend time with..but If you are like me..and have a family...but they annoy you to death...yeah..I would want to go to the mall or something. I mean, I COULD tolerate it..but it gets old and people need a break especially during the holidays..so its not all that strange that materialism is what they turn to. I see where you are coming from, but its not all sad, sometimes, its just good to go out and spend a little money on yourself..if you have it that is...I know that may sound materialistic..but sometimes...you deserve it, you know what im saying? And what better time to go out for a little while and clear your head...shopping for something while its on sale...yeah..I know im a typical girl...but hey. Your statement about theings arent really worthwhile unless it involves material? It is..but for people like me...its blind for them to see past all the material things and focus on things that are really important. Sometimes we just need a nudge to help us.

[K-chan]

I have worked most major holidays this year including Christmas Eve though I loathed to do it, but I wanted to give my father his first Christmas Eve off in over forty years. I had to argue with that old die hard workaholic to let me do it too. ^_^ Even though he's retired I swear he'll be a Woolworth manager till the very end.

I have watched the customers come in and out of the store all season. It may seem all material, but in some ways it isn't. I work in an antique store and for the most part we sell furniture and home decor items, but every mid November our furniture sales dissapear. All we sell this time of year are small things. Every customer I spoke with had a story behind their particular purchase, most of them gifts. It is funny how an object can spark a certain memory or sentiment. Just because this time of year happens to focus on the material doesn't mean it is without heart or feeling. We exchange gifts at this time of year to show that we appreciate the non material gifts the ones we love give us throughout the year.

As for the post-season business it's understandable. No one wants to stay indoors especially in this warm weather. Its the last weekend before the children go back to school and many people are probably still entertaining company. So you go out, do a little shopping, maybe have the whole gang catch a movie. All day we had daughters dragging their mothers into the store showing them their favorite haunts. The mothers in turn pointed out all the old things they remembered from their childhood.

A lot of this depends on the area of retail you are in, but in some businesses shopping can be more family orientated.

[Silver Adept]

No experience with working a Christmas Day or a Holiday. So unqualified to talk much about that other than there will be people who have things to get on those days, and need places to stay open where they can get them.

As for the culture of materialism, you may find some fault in one of the largest perceived byproducts of the scientific revolution - the apparent "death" of the Deific figure. As science continues to provide plausible theories about the workings and possible nature of the universe, some people mistakenly believe that science is disproving the existence of God. Perhaps in attempting to fill a void in their thinking that this conclusion creates, people replace a religious God with a material one, and thus "keeping up with the Joneses" becomes a religion unto itself.

It's not necessarily bad to be material - necessities and luxuries both help to keep us happy and balanced. Thus, people will always be at the mall during the holidays. The key is to keep the social ties going as well - wish each other well, even when it isn't the holidays. If you can instill trust in fellow people, or God, or something other than the material, you'll probably see less people at the mall on those days. Excepting for emergencies, that is...