According to a consumption researcher, the most extravagant Christmas celebrations are going down in history.
This is how Tammenheimo’s every day starts, and Christmas, which is waiting less than a month away, does not make a deviation from the daily routine. For Tammenheimo, Christmas is like any other weekday.
He hasn’t celebrated Christmas in decades.
– Somehow, the commercialism of Christmas and the abundance of goods is annoying. I’m a nature lover, I don’t like spending, says Tammenheimo.
Christmas has been the store’s biggest sales time for years. It still is, but Tammenheimo’s thoughts about exaggerated consumerism are no longer foreign to other Finns either. The idea of \u200b\u200bmoderation is also creeping into the celebration of Christmas.
The Christmas tree was also allowed, because there is finer glitter in nature
The last time Tammenheimo celebrated Christmas was when his son was still a child. Even then, he felt a spirit of rebellion against the traditional fussing of Christmas.
– It goes back a long way, to when I was a teenager myself. Mother tried to organize everything for Christmas. As a result, he was exhausted and irritable on Christmas Day.
Tammenheimo found the tense atmosphere oppressive and decided that when he grows up he will do everything differently.
The first thing left was the Christmas cleaning. The food wasn’t cooked extravagantly either.
Then the gifts were left out.
– Christmas should be a celebration of love. Is that love shown with goods? Shops are the opposite of love, says Tammenheimo.
In the end, the Christmas tree was also allowed to go, because there were much nicer trees in nature. In Tammenheimo’s opinion, frost and sun create much finer glitter decorations than Christmas decorations.
– The trend of moderation can be seen. The consumer society is already pretty dead and there is a critical discussion about whether consumption needs to increase all the time. We have strong concerns about the environment, says Wilska.
The corona pandemic further strengthened the idea that you can get by with less. Now it also makes Christmas fun.
– People now invest especially in Christmas food, but the importance of Christmas gifts has perhaps become more reasonable. There are already many families where adults don’t buy each other anything. Many feel uncomfortable if they receive a lot of unnecessary stuff.
The shrinking of the mountains of gifts can also be seen in the trade statistics
In recent years, the difference in December sales in stores compared to the rest of the year has started to level out.
At the beginning of the 2000s, sales in December were 27 percent more compared to the annual average. Last year, sales were only 18 percent more.
– Even at the beginning of the 21st century, it was more common that, for example, skates or a Stiga were only given as a Christmas gift at Christmas, whereas nowadays it is more common to get everything from parents as soon as the first snow arrives, Lauttamäki says.
Ulrika Tammenheimos says it’s much more fun to give gifts when you get a good idea to make your loved ones happy, rather than putting off a gift until Christmas.
– If you have to buy something, it’s better when you need it, says Tammenheimo.
Sociology professor Terhi-Anna Wilska points out that giving gifts is positive spending. It makes a person happy, strengthens social relationships and affection. In Wilska’s opinion, a gift makes Christmas Christmas
– Giving gifts will by no means end, but giving gifts is more thoughtful. There may be fewer of them, but they are of higher quality, says Wilska.
A new trend, especially among young people, is that even used gifts are fine. Although young people value brands and status goods, they can be well looked for as gifts at flea markets.
At Christmas, meditation by candlelight and lots of sleep
Although Tammenheimo does not celebrate Christmas, the last weeks of the year still have a special meaning. Tammenheimo has adopted new ways for Christmas and New Year by studying ancient peoples.
From Tuomaa’s day, the time for quieting down and meditation begins.
– It is the darkest time of the year. Nature is at a standstill, in a deep sleep. Even your own chores become quieter. I only do the necessary work in connection with heating and cooking.
The oak tribe works by the light of a candle or, at most, a headlamp. The radio doesn’t play and the TV stays on. He writes letters to his loved ones and meditates.
– I take stock of the past year and think about what I will do differently next year. I sleep a lot.
Planning for the new year already begins on Christmas Day. That’s when the quiet life also ends and Tammenheimo contacts friends and relatives.
If Tammenheimo could change the way Finnish Christmas is celebrated, he would hope that people running around the shops with their noses up would stop.
– If only people would take time for even an hour or a day, leave the hecticness behind and be just for themselves, Tammenheimo hopes.
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