News reports may state that the recession is winding down, but some families are still having a hard time making ends meet. To complete the financial slam-dunk, here come the holidays. The Christmas season is fraught with angst and anxiety under the best of circumstances, adding additional work and financial stress to families.
On the non-money side, how you celebrate the holiday season may also be weighing on your mind. Have you grown discouraged by the commercialization of a religious holiday? Would you like to make the holidays more meaningful and less about consumption? Research shows that while retailers would love for you to increase your spending this month, more people would actually like to downsize their spending(PDF) and gift purchasing over the holidays.
To start your holiday “paradigm shift,” log onto the Ohio Department of Aging website. There are four different volumes to choose from and read. Volume Four has a link titled “Holidays During the Great Depression.” As you read some of the stories, you will see that as bad as those times were financially, the overall consensus is that everyone felt blessed despite non-existent material possessions. Below are some recollections to ponder:
“Holidays were special. We had foods that we didn’t get during the year, like oranges and nuts and freshly made peanut butter from West Side Market. That was our treat at Christmas. We didn’t have a tree or gifts.” – Theresa Giallombardo, age 80, Maple Heights
“Our Christmases were so exciting! Christmas Eve, we would go down to the market after it closed, pick up a tree they had thrown away, and decorate it that night. What family fun for my brother, sister, me and my mom and dad! It always was beautiful in my childish eyes. We had no gifts under our tree until the day after. The morning after Christmas, we went down to Montgomery Ward on Main Street and Mother and Daddy purchased our gifts at sale price. In those days, the day after Christmas was really honestly marked down good merchandise before Jan. 1 inventory. I remember one year I wanted a certain doll so bad, but of course we couldn’t afford it. The day after Christmas, we went down to Montgomery Ward and yes, there was one of my dolls still for sale, marked down. My mother grabbed her up and hugged her and actually cried. She had been marked down enough for us to buy her. My daughter has her in her treasures.” -Carolyn Davison, age 86, Columbus.
“Am I glad to have lived through the Great Depression? Yes. I learned to appreciate the simple life and to have compassion for those truly in need.” – June M. Baden, age 79, Westerville
“I wouldn’t change any of these experiences even if I could. It was more enjoyable than you can ever imagine. I have come to appreciate what a wonderful opportunity my family had to grow up poor in the back woods of West Virginia deprived of nothing that was truly important, and blessed with everything we really needed.” – Betty Banta, age 80, Columbus
“We learned early on to amuse ourselves and not to have many wants. It’s the wants, not the needs, that do people in. Having less wants creates contentment and one is satisfied with the simple pleasures in life. Holidays, we baked cookies and wrapped them up in tea towels to give to relatives and neighbors.” – Leona M. Osrin, Beachwood
“Yes times were tough and hard, but you know what? Between yesteryears and today, I would go back to that again because you learned how to survive.” – George Campbell, age 74, Cleveland
“Let us look at these times not as a time of disruption, but as a purposeful step to avoid the greed and over-abundance that may have ingrained our way of life in the past. Find ways to give to the less fortunate, for it is in giving that we receive!” – Frances Daubert, age 80, Centerville
The takeaway?
We all occasionally need gentle reminders of what is truly important. Take some time this holiday season to center yourself with words of wisdom from those who have important messages to share.
Written by: Donna Green, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension
Reviewed by: Betsy DeMatteo, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension
