Judge Ye Not

Is it ever appropriate to satirize a holiday? If it’s a holiday driven by greed, delusional religious beliefs, and materialism, then absolutely.

Christmas is sold as “the most wonderful time of the year.” Isn’t that just absurd though? Talk about audacious marketing tactics. And what pressure families are under to make sure everyone is happier during the end of December than any other week on the calendar. And why? A Christian may argue because it’s the time to celebrate the birth of Christ. Others may simply say it’s a magical time when children avoid naughtiness in hopes of Santa’s rewards.

But a satirist cannot celebrate the positives of the holiday season. Satire doesn’t praise positives, it criticizes negatives. And the negatives of the holiday season are not hard to find.

Christmastime is not essentially any different than the rest of the year, yet consumers are encouraged to consume more. Satire is responsible for saying, “but why are we buying things at this time? Is it because the wise men brought Jesus gifts? Is it because Saint Nickolas gave gifts to orphans? It is because we’re capitalists and we need to give our economy a shot in the arm at the end of the year?”

Of course, buying things is the most shallow aspect of the holiday season. Everyone knows this. Ideally, it should suffice to celebrate any given holiday simply by getting together with your loved ones and enjoying a nice meal. But if you ever turned on the TV, you’d hear otherwise. A good Christmas requires you to give your loved one the “perfect gift,” which should be purchased directly from the proposed seller. That’s right, your wife needs a brand new car with a big bow and ribbon on it waiting in the driveway when she wakes up on Christmas morning. Otherwise, you’re a lousy husband.

Everyone has seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The “true meaning of Christmas” isn’t about the glitz, but remembering that humans are capable of generosity, good-will and peacefulness. Does buying things promote those virtues? Nah. And that’s why there is so much satire of Christmas.

The Colbert Christmas special. The Simpsons did it very early in their series. Always Sunny in Philadelphia had a wonderfully crude Christmas special. And King of the Hill has more than a few episodes that focus on the perils of Christmas. It can certainly be a very ridiculous time of the year, in which families feign happiness for the sake of a commercial’s commands. Advertisers tell us every year that Christmas is a time for peace, joy, and the exchange of purchased goods. But satire reminds us of what a hypocritical beckon this is.