Have a great Thanksgiving, but be sure to mark you calanders to my favorite new holiday, "Buy Nothing Day" this November 26th...
Make the busiest shopping day of the year a day of "culture jamming" and of just enjoying not buying stuff. Make it an 24 hour experiment, a fast from "consumerism" or a act of protest. But try it out.
This is an international holiday that has gone on for the last 15 years, where all you have to do is not finiancially consume stuff. Don't buy gas. Don't buy a track off iTunes. Don't buy a stick of gum. See what it feels like and what fills the space.
As it says on the above stencil, which you can download free here, "Draw Something, Sew Something, Cook Something, Sing Something, Make Somthing, Buy Nothing...November 26th!
Here are some user created posters from the Buy Nothing Day blog...
Yes! I would actually encourage us to go a step further, and celebrate a Buy-Nothing Christmas! I did last year (unaware of AdBusters' campaign), and I have to say it was one of the most rewarding Christmases I've ever celebrated. Instead of buying gifts for family, I donated to charities in their name - and asked them to do the same for me. Not only was that better for humankind, but it also made my Christmas a lot less stressful - no more worrying about what presents to get, no waiting in long lines, and no worrying about how to fit all the stuff I get into my suitcase for the flight home.
We should celebrate Christ's birthday not by participating in an orgy of consumerism, but by giving gifts to the people Christ cares about - the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the abandoned.
Posted by: jimmy 5 | November 23, 2005 at 07:56 PM