Second Proposing Speech
The opposing team has overlooked the significance of religion by definition. Of course, nowadays, Christmas has evolved gradually into a festival to gather the families and friends, most of the churches in western countries decided that they would close on Dec. 25th, even though it’s a Sunday and even though it’s Christmas Day! People are so busy and Christmas is supposed to be a family day, so this decision was made as a family friendly gesture. But wait a minute--- whose birthday is it anyway? And which family is supposed to be serving which--- the family of faith or the physical family? As now the festival has changed its original purpose, it’s not surprising that it can evolve into celebrating other things in the next century. And that is exactly the reason why we are cancelling it to look back on its origin...
Second Opposing Speech
The proposing team has raised the issue of financial crisis and thinks that people will be relieved without the necessity to buy gifts. Not to say that nobody is obliged by Christmas to send gifts to each other which is rather a way to express love and care for others (those who send gifts on Christmas will keep on presenting gifts to each other even with the canceling of Christmas), if we really do stop this gifts shopping peak, have you thought about the real economic danger behind this? ...
Second Proposing Speech
Dear readers, after two introduction speeches, I would like first to come back to the points of the opposing team. Then I’ll try to go further in the arguing of our side.
First of all, the opposing team has overlooked the significance of religion by definition. Of course, nowadays, Christmas has evolved gradually into a festival to gather the families and friends, most of the churches in western countries decided that they would close on Dec. 25th, even though it’s a Sunday and even though it’s Christmas Day! People are so busy and Christmas is supposed to be a family day, so this decision was made as a family friendly gesture. But wait a minute--- whose birthday is it anyway? And which family is supposed to be serving which--- the family of faith or the physical family? As now the festival has changed its original purpose, it’s not surprising that it can evolve into celebrating other things in the next century. And that is exactly the reason why we are cancelling it to look back on its origin. And besides, the first speaker said “we do not mean the attendance of the midnight mass on December 24th.” Then where is the sense of Christmas, not for religion and not for family neither, so if Christmas can be defined like this, why we couldn’t just cancel it and celebrate in another sunny day in July, just like the Japanese cancelled their old new year in the Chinese calendar and began a new one in the western way right after the meiji restoration, I’m sure that the climate would be much agreeable.
Secondly, the speaker said that the power of Christmas lies in that it can affect people, make youngests’ life full of hope and dreams and so on. However, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just unrealistic and childish. It makes the Children believe the lies told by the old since they are young which make them learn to be dishonest instead of being grateful for their parents or being imaginative , which is quite ridiculous, besides, hope and dream is not the support for us especially for the children to celebrate this festival which was long since proved by Anderson in his work “the little girl with matches”, rather then make the children be unrealistic, making them know that it is the hard work of their parents or a year long that can make them realise their dreams and they should also take up the responsibility when they grow up is much better for the conformity of the society.
And last but not least, the speaker said that Christmas is the time when non profit organizations are the most active which I fundamentally can’t agree with, if it’s just about caring people, why shouldn’t we change it into a holiday just doing charity work which can be more practical, besides, even the speaker emphasized that consumption is just an aspect of the Christmas, the numbers are still enormous According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. consumers will shell out $437.6 billion on holiday cheer. That's an average of $682.74 for stuff that'll likely be consigned to one of three piles -- regift, donate, or store-until-we-move.
Adbusters.org has promoted "Buy Nothing Day" for more than a decade to counter the idea that shopping is our patriotic duty and to call attention to this country's over consumption, our high debt levels, and the effect our shopaholism has on other parts of the world. They've extended Buy Nothing Day into December and now promote Buy Nothing Christmas to de-commercialize the holiday and emphasize alternative ways of giving.
No matter what your political leanings, from a strictly financial point of view, cancelling Christmas might be the best gift you ever give to your family: "Hey honey, help me wrap financial stability and fiscal awareness amid uncertain economic times and put it underneath the tree before the kids wake up!"
That’s all I want to say, thanks for reading and vote for us!
by SQ
Second Opposing Speech
Honorable judges, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to our debate on the Christmas issue.
In this second round, I would like to refer to some arguments proposed by the proposing team which we do not totally agree and then bring you into some deeper thoughts of the benefits of Christmas.
To begin with, the proposing team has raised the issue of financial crisis and thinks that people will be relieved without the necessity to buy gifts. Not to say that nobody is obliged by Christmas to send gifts to each other which is rather a way to express love and care for others (those who send gifts on Christmas will keep on presenting gifts to each other even with the canceling of Christmas), if we really do stop this gifts shopping peak, have you thought about the real economic danger behind this?
The Christmas shopping season has always been an important consummation point in most western countries. To take America as an example, a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the Christmas shopping season, Christmas sales is even an important indicator for America’s economic health. As a stimulant of consummation, Christmas is a great motor for the recovery of economy.
As to the ecological fact, the proposition’s argument seems to be true at first sight with such astonishing figures, but if we do take a rational look into it, it has nothing to do with Christmas. The figures are related to the gifts we present to each other, among which a lot are daily essentials. If you cancel Christmas for the reason that clothes, magazines, books and wines are “evil” to ecology, do we have to abandon them all? Actually, to some extent, Christmas has aroused people’s consciousness that a lot of their daily essentials are not that eco-friendly, thus making manufacturers and labs try their best to find more eco-friendly substitutes.
Concerning the argument of divorcing day of couples, the proposing team has also said the fact that the couples just want to wait until Christmas is over and then to get divorced, so it is clear that problems have already emerged before Christmas. More fairly, the high divorce boom has nothing to do with Christmas at all. In contrast, we can find out that Christmas is a festival which people all treasure and they want to enjoy the happiness. That’s why we shouldn’t cancel Christmas and keep this happiness for long.
As for the argument of religion, the proposition unfortunately failed to reveal the truth of the matter. No one has ever been forced to celebrate Christmas. People celebrate Christmas all because of their willingness from the fond of their heart; they want to be involved in the happiness created by this Christian festival. That’s why Christmas has lasted so long. Instead of the unfairness said by the proposing team, it’s a great occasion that people of all religions share their happiness together, thus enhancing the harmony of different religions.
Getting back to our arguments, Christmas is a precious and cherished time of the year for family members who don’t get to see each other often. It not only arouses our thankfulness and caring for others, but medical research has also uncovered hidden benefits to this festive season. Christmas holidays can permit the busy working people share some time with their elderly parents and their children, which make them feel less lonely. Chatting with family and friends can even prevent dementia, according to research carried out at the University of Michigan. Moreover, Christmas is a great moment that people exchange cards. A study of Pennsylvania State University showed the more Christmas cards they received, the higher their levels of self-esteem and happiness - especially if they came from absent friends. So why cancel such a great opportunity for everyone to be happy?
What’s more, Christmas is also a great culture heritage. As time flows, every country has formed its own way to celebrate the Christmas. For example, Denmark people leave rice pudding and saucers of milk out for the Santa (Julemanden in Denmark); in England, small wrapped boxes with food and sweets, or small gifts, or coins are given to anyone who comes calling that day; Swedish children use advent calendars to count down the days to Christmas Eve, etc. These interesting customs are all invaluable treasures we’ve got. One year’s canceling may not be a tragedy for these cultural heritages, but it can be a great threat for the insistence of protecting all these beloved culture that we have.
My dear friends, you want to keep your invaluable memories of Christmas? You want to protect this gorgeous source of happiness? Please vote for us!
by CS
@CS
ReplyDeleteYou seem to think that Christmas shouldn’t be cancelled because it is the only time of the year where people take care from each other (which isn’t at all everyone’s situation, a lot of people actually spend Christmas alone, but that’s not my present point). On the contrary, I think it is very important to help people realize that they can pay attention to others the whole year long. Christmas shouldn’t be an excuse to forgot his family and absent friends the rest of the year.
EL
@SQ
ReplyDeleteDo you really think Christmas could be celebrated in July? I think you're neglecting the importance of the season in this celebration. Christmas in Summer would lose all its magic and meaning (even though the date was originally set arbitrarily by the Catholic Church, it has now become a real part of our occidental culture).
Moreover, you seem to think that children should face the hard reality of life, and be denied the great memories only Christmas can make. Of course, childhood is based on many lies (the tooth fairy, storks bringing babies...), but it's a way to protect children and it's what gives them a childhood the only way it should be: happy and innocent.
FL