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'Tis the season to bring back 'real' Christmas
December 23, 1997
Shoppers at this ASDA market near London hear the Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas sermon
Web posted at: 4:53 p.m. EST (2153 GMT)GRAVESEND, England (CNN) -- The British ASDA supermarket chain chose a rather unusual way of reminding frantic Christmas shoppers about the 'real' spirit of this festive season: Christmas carols and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas sermon were broadcast in more than 200 ASDA markets on Sunday.
The philosophy underlying the project was clear: if you can't get people into the church, bring the church to the people.
"Christianity, when it started out, went to the market place to spread the word. So, I think, it is a nice synergy of the commercial enterprise and Christianity coming together in our store," said Mark Williamson, manager of an ASDA store in Gravesend, a town about 35 km (22 miles) east of London.
Shoppers gave a mixed review to this Christian Christmas campaign. While some shoppers welcomed the idea, with comments such as it "makes people more aware that Christmas is a time of giving," other cart-pushing consumers were not too pleased, complaining that "it is the wrong time and the wrong place when people are trying to do their shopping."
The Christian Advertising Network gets its message across
So is this kind of religious advertising wrong? Martin Casson of Christian Advertising Network says no. "For the church to use advertising is just a way of saying: yes we are here in the '90s, just like everyone else."
Some British consumers, apparently struggling to find that very special gift for that very special someone, opted for the downright outrageous this Christmas season.
The well-known high-street retailer British Home Stores, for instance, offered dress-up kits for dogs and cats, complete with a dinner suit with a white bib, cuffs and a black bow tie.
And a statement by German Transport Minister Matthias Wissman on Tuesday made clear that stressful Christmas shopping is not a phenomenon restricted to Britain.
Landy says his tree represents "that bloated feeling you feel after Christmas"
Wissman urged German motorists this Christmas to stop not only for gas, but also for spiritual refreshment at a church.
"During the stressful and hectic Christmas holiday season, the Autobahn (highway) churches are an ideal place to relax and reflect," Wissmann said. "You can fill your tank at the gas stations, but why not fill your soul at the churches?"
British artist Michael Landy reinterpreted the very symbol of Christmas -- the Christmas tree -- as a means to express his feelings of revulsion with Christmas excess. While shopping malls display luxuriously decorated Christmas trees, Landy created his own protest tree at London's famous Tate art gallery.
His installation was essentially aimed at expressing that "bloated feeling you feel after Christmas," Landy said. His tree is decorated with trashy-looking "consumer items that have not done what they were supposed to do."
Correspondent Siobhan Darrow and Reuters contributed to this report.
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