Another holiday. Another shopping spree. Another Happy Holidays. If we don't believe in God and want to be politically correct at all cost, whom are we giving thanks to? Supercenters or shopping malls? Seriously, why celebrate a holiday that is all about God and His blessings and yet omit the reference to the main focus of celebration? Is it all about God or is it just another excuse to spend/make money?
Thanksgiving is the start of the Advent period and at the same time beginning of the biggest shopping season in America. Fortunately, I've been able to keep myself (more or less) away from such tidings (pun intended) since landing in the US. But this one is more than a shopping spree. It's more of a shopping frenzy.
Knowing about Black Friday, I was thinking how people would line up in front of stores at 4 am in a below freezing temperature. Although it could have been a good opportunity for me to make some interesting observations as a sociologist, I neither felt like waking up at that time, nor saw it in myself to ride my bike in such a cold. Then, watching the news, I found people standing in line since the night before to be the first ones rushing to doorbusters. And they have their rules and principles. If you set up a tent or use heaters in that freezing cold, that's cheating.
And yes, we live in an age of technology. There's Cyber Monday (also known as Black Monday). A cyber version of Black Friday. Here, you don't have to shiver while waiting for the virtual stores to open. You can do it at the comfort of your home (or work, if you're a bit unscrupulous). You can find amazing prices and offers very hard to resist. But even as somebody who has spent over 20 years on computers, I'm not a player in this game.
What interests me the most about this season is the Advent part of it. People gear for Christmas and start decorating their homes, trees and places. And that comes with light decorations. My fascination with light and lighting does not come merely from my electrical engineering background. I have been born that way. My mother tells me when I was a newborn baby, my mood considerably changed in places like Shiraz (my birthplace) rich in lighting and light decorations (and conversely turned gloomy and grumpy in places poor in that respect). Fortunately, the neighborhoods near UT have much for me to visit and enjoy. Just if I can find some time to break my home-campus-home routine.
Thanksgiving is the start of the Advent period and at the same time beginning of the biggest shopping season in America. Fortunately, I've been able to keep myself (more or less) away from such tidings (pun intended) since landing in the US. But this one is more than a shopping spree. It's more of a shopping frenzy.
Knowing about Black Friday, I was thinking how people would line up in front of stores at 4 am in a below freezing temperature. Although it could have been a good opportunity for me to make some interesting observations as a sociologist, I neither felt like waking up at that time, nor saw it in myself to ride my bike in such a cold. Then, watching the news, I found people standing in line since the night before to be the first ones rushing to doorbusters. And they have their rules and principles. If you set up a tent or use heaters in that freezing cold, that's cheating.
And yes, we live in an age of technology. There's Cyber Monday (also known as Black Monday). A cyber version of Black Friday. Here, you don't have to shiver while waiting for the virtual stores to open. You can do it at the comfort of your home (or work, if you're a bit unscrupulous). You can find amazing prices and offers very hard to resist. But even as somebody who has spent over 20 years on computers, I'm not a player in this game.
What interests me the most about this season is the Advent part of it. People gear for Christmas and start decorating their homes, trees and places. And that comes with light decorations. My fascination with light and lighting does not come merely from my electrical engineering background. I have been born that way. My mother tells me when I was a newborn baby, my mood considerably changed in places like Shiraz (my birthplace) rich in lighting and light decorations (and conversely turned gloomy and grumpy in places poor in that respect). Fortunately, the neighborhoods near UT have much for me to visit and enjoy. Just if I can find some time to break my home-campus-home routine.
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