Holiday Spirit 101: It’s consumption time in the city
Hayley Richardson | Fri, Dec 14th, 2007 | Category: Commentary | Tags: hayley richardson, consumers, midwest, christmas, consumption, bloomingdales, consumption time in the city, salvation army, body shop, magnificent mile, holiday spirit, chestnut st., the nutcracker
It’s startling when I realize that so many of my Christmas memories are tied to consumption.
I suspect, however, that this may be somewhat normal when you’ve grown up in the midwest, where nostalgia rules the land, where Christmas is at its most idealized. Living in Chicago, I remember the enchanting department store windows along the Magnificent Mile, tickets to the Nutcracker, carols on the PA system, satin dresses, and excess in general. I remember being surrounded by a frenzy of people who believed that with the right combination of gift-giving ingenuity and maxed-out credit cards, they would have a Christmas “just like they used to.” It was all pretty unhealthy, actually.
As someone who’s not actively participating (or at least trying not to participate) in the capitalist project, it’s a bit disheartening when I remember that my beloved cities, at the most basic level, are essentially efficient machines for consumption. Forget the radical possibilities offered by physical proximity, cities are simply really good at consolidating purchases. Before the car made malls convenient and preferred, downtown was the shopping destination. Georgetown’s M St., 5th Avenue, and Chestnut St. here in Philly all exist solely to make it easy to buy things. And this is their time to shine.
In my grownup life, I don’t want a Christmas brought to me by the window displays at Bloomingdales, or by a scent bottled by the Body Shop. If Christmas is about being together, then surely cities offer the best place to do so. But in my first holiday season in Philadelphia, I’ve yet to get “that Christmas feeling.” Maybe it doesn’t exist, but God help me, I’m an eternally hopeful midwesterner.
A question for all you urbanites out there: In what sort of places/spaces do you find Christmas-y sentiments? (And please don’t tell me to go volunteer at the Salvation Army. They have enough guilt-ridden people as it is).
Jeffrey Hill
Sat, Dec 15, 2007 at 9:06pm
Unfortunately, in Philadelphia, most of the Christmas-themed visual spectacles come with a hefty admission fee or are situated in a department store full of screaming mothers (the kids get quieter as the years go on). This post seems reminiscient of Charlie Brown’s sentiments in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
The snow is free. When it falls, it makes the roads a little quieter.
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