Christmas...

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It used to be "the most wonderful time of the year" where many people's dreams would come true. Now, it has turned into a narcissistic and materialistic nightmare. CNBC reported the following:

Christmas holiday retail sales in the U.S. are expected to climb above the $1 trillion mark for the first time this year, on the back of low unemployment, solid income growth and higher consumer confidence, according to a study released Tuesday.

Total retail sales in the U.S. will hit $1.002 trillion during the holiday period — which it defines as spanning November 1 and December 31 this year — an increase of almost 6 percent from the previous year, marking the 'strongest growth since 2011,' data from market research firm eMarketer showed.

How crazy is that? That's A LOT of money! Now, I'm not knocking anyone who chooses to celebrate Christmas, but I think it has trapped a lot of people into losing their identity in materialism and setting Christ's actual teachings aside. Not only that, but Christmas has evolved so much over the years. Think about where it came from, the pagan holidays such as Saturnalia and the Yule. Do you really think that the decorated tree and garland came from the Bible? No, it came from other pagan traditions. Essentially, isn't that idol worship? People literally revere a tree and presents more than they do what Christ actually taught which is to love God, love each other, and to store up treasures in Heaven, not Earthly ones. This isn't to be mean or bash people or let their spirits down, it's just to give a perspective on what is happening in the majority of the world as this holiday is celebrated. The real kicker here is that Christ's actual birthday was not in December but in September!