Jesse Erskine and the Spirit of Christmas, 1928
A Student Essay That Questioned Ridiculous Christmas Gift Giving
Nov 16, 2009
Erskine's essay denounced Christmas gift giving as a waste of time and money. She observed that by 1928 the holiday spirit of giving had degenerated into a 'flustering chore' even on the frontier, and she suggested that Christmas gift giving be restricted. Her essay was published during the Christmas shopping season in the Grande Prairie Herald.
The So-Called Christmas Shopper
She wrote, "The approach of Christmastide gives rise to many interests and the question recurs to our minds, 'Should Christmas giving be restricted?' Yes, we decidedly think it should. What is a more ridiculous object than the harassed and hurried individual, the so-called Christmas shopper, dashing madly about in search of equally ridiculous gifts. The idea is hardly reconcilable to the age-old Christmas idea of 'peace on earth, goodwill towards man."
1928 Christmas Shopping Portrayed in Magazines
"Christmas giving has in most cases, degenerated into a flustering chore, a thing to be worried and bothered about for weeks, and to be put off until the last remaining minute. Even the magazine help this impression along. Advertisements display, in arresting colors, pictures of frowning women, tearing through shops in last feverish rushes of Christmas shopping."
Unsuitable Christmas Presents
Jesse Erskine believed that most presents bought at Christmas were a waste of time and money. She wrote, "And again, the presents given are usually wretchedly unsuitable and often laughable. there is the argument that it isn't the present, but the feelings which go with it that should be considered. In most cases the only sentiment accompanying a gift is a strong conception of relief, 'Thank goodness, I have Mary off my hands for another year!"
Restrictions on Christmas Presents
But Jessie Erskine did think that there was a place for the loving and well thought out gift. Jessie wrote, "I think Christmas giving should be restricted and gifts presented only when prompted by a sincere, loving impulse - and not by obligation, just because everyone else is doing it. Also gifts should be chosen with forehanded thought and care, so that the receiver can feel a pull at the heart rather than a quirk at the mouth."
Most Christmas Gift Giving a Waste of Time and Money
Jesse Erskine was ahead of her time in 1928 when she observed that most Christmas gift giving was not an efficient use of resources, she thought it was a waste of time and money, and that sincere sentiment accompanying ridiculous gifts was not enough to make up for the wasted energy and money of shopping according to social pressures.
Sources:
Images were provided by the South Peace Regional Archives. Material was provided by the Isabel Campbell Collection which is housed in the Grande Prairie Public Library.
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