Monday 1 December 2008

Merry Christmas ...what will Santa bring the economy

So, it's the first of December and as the first door of advent calendars are opened across the country, will this Christmas be a tad different from any other my generation can recall? 16 years of unprecedented economic growth has been curtailed and we now face the first Christmas in a recession than any of us can probably remember. The economic downturn was evidenced by the lass than festive news that the pound lost the most value against the dollar in one day since 1992. Yet amidst all the doom and gloom and the 20% day sales that the likes of Beales and Marks and Spencers have used in the last week, could tightening our belts be a good thing?

People my age have grown up surrounded by unlimited material desires. As a child, if it wasn't a Playstation it was a Go-Kart and if it wasn't a go kart, it was the latest pair of football boots. But, could this economic downturn lead to people beginning to re-connect with the true spirit of Christmas, and not be blinded by a proliferation of flashing gizmos and glittering bows. Don't misconstrue this as religous fanatiscism that is extolling the virtues of midnight mass, but I do feel the true meaning of the festive season has been somewhat clouded. Could this Xmas be the beginning of the end of the rat race of consumerism that has come to embody the festive season?

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