Christmas is more than fights in a store

Let us raise a toast to the Spirit of Christmas Past. Whose past? Our past.
By now, some of you have returned from an expedition to Midnight Madness at the Prime Outlets in Lee. Madness, exactly. Why people would flock to an outlet mall at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday is beyond my ability to comprehend. On the other hand, it's hard to blame the retailers seeking to turn a profit despite tight-fisted shoppers and the increasing dominance of on-line behemoths like Amazon.
But Black Friday has descended into asylum-like madness, with major chains vying with each other to open at 5, 4 or even 3 in the morning. In many areas, where permitted by state law, Wal-Mart stores opened at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day for a 42-hour marathon through midnight tonight. Other chains doing business yesterday included the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Toys ‘R Us opened at a minute past midnight this morning. Massachusetts remains an island of sanity -- through one of its sole surviving blue laws, large retail stores still must remain closed on Thanksgiving Day and Dec. 25. It's reassuring to note that Wal-Mart has added extra security following last year's stampede that killed a guard and injured 11 customers at the store in Valley Stream, Long Island.
Wal-Mart reached a settlement with the Nassau County district attorney, requiring a review of crowd-control procedures statewide. The plans were submitted to

review by independent security experts. The New York state stores organized wee-hours customers into orderly lines monitored by crowd-management specialists. There were barriers with safety zones and a "crow's nest" where crowds could be monitored from above. A Wal-Mart spokesman said similar measures were "rolled out" to the chain's stores nationwide. Nonetheless, with the widely-reported inventory shortage -- especially of popular toys like the hard-to-locate motorized Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster -- crowd control remains a serious concern.
So, this is what we've come to -- Black Friday as a safety issue as the kickoff to the frenzied Christmas shopping -- oops, holiday shopping -- season.
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Despite the continuing weakness of the economy, "consumers" (that dreaded term used by corporate America as a synonym for people) seem ready to plunge back into bargain-hunting. One survey found 52 percent of the public planned to shop today, up from 42 percent last year. Another forecast from the National Retail Federation estimated that 26 percent -- nearly 57 million people -- had definite intentions to head for the stores during the Black Friday weekend, with 35 percent considering it.
"I actually think what happened last year may give more of mystique and cache to Black Friday this year," said Richard Divine, chairman of the marketing department at Central Michigan University's business school, on MSNBC. "People may think if there's that good a deal that people are getting killed over it, then maybe I have to check it out."
There's even a subculture of shoppers who troll social-network Web sites for hot-deal promotions -- Staples and other retailers use Facebook to tout their bargains. Some JCPenney customers were to be treated to wake-up robo-calls early this morning voiced by B-list celebrities like Cindy Crawford.
All of which is a scene-setter for my annual rant against not only the outrageous commercialization of "the holidays" (Halloween to New Year's) but also the continuing, widespread practice of avoiding specific mention of Christmas. Broadcast and print ads offer very few references to the Holiday That Dares Not Speak Its Name. There are a few exceptions, to be sure. At least, the Christmas Tree Shops chain has yet to re-brand itself as the Holiday Tree Shops.
In spite of it all, the Christmas season remains a favorite time of the year for its lights, decorations and -- above all -- its traditional carols and choral masterpieces whose original intent, after all, was to honor the Christ child. Our area is fortunate to have many homegrown music groups and churches that go all-out to present seasonal music. Our family's favorite, David Grover's Christmas and Hanukkah concert, comes to the Colonial Theatre this year on Dec. 18.
But beware of the latest Disney film version of Charles Dickens's immortal "A Christmas Carol." It's a technologically advanced, extremely frightening 3-D presentation that totally misses the heart and soul of the short novel that embodies the spirit of the season at its best -- one miser's redemption following a night's sleep bedeviled by visits of three ghosts. Much better to see the Berkshire Theatre Festival's faithful version starring Eric Hill and many area children, on display Dec. 12-30 in Stockbridge, or any of the three classic film versions from 1938, 1951 and 1984 (respectively featuring Reginald Owen, Alastair Sim and George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge).
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One of my fondest childhood memories is the mid-December visit to our local Christmas tree farm to pick out a modestly-sized tree to be adorned with candles and topped by an angel. Even though my parents were Holocaust survivors, they held fast to the central-European tradition of celebrating Christmas as a special secular day to be shared by all, even non-believers.
We live in an era when political and social correctness trumps tradition. Those of us born Jewish are admonished to ignore Christmas in favor of Hanukkah, a minor holiday. Fie on all that, I say. We could all do with a cup of Christmas cheer.
So, here's to the spirit of the season at its best and may we celebrate it much as Scrooge did upon his awakening -- and with reasonable, self-imposed limits on extraneous trips to the mall.