My wife will tell you that I am the Grinch at Christmas. I have been that way for years. It’s not that I don’t celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I do on Christmas and every day. It’s because of the commercialization of Christmas.

Every Thanksgiving, I brace myself for more than a month of constant marketing messages and spending. It is frustrating to see the holiday detach further from its purpose in favor of cash. Americans are spending more money on Christmas than ever before. Americans spent an estimated $531.8 billion in the retail sector in December 2022, according to the Census Bureau’s Monthly Retail Trade Report. That’s about $1,600 per person and $3,800 per household. A number that has climbed each of the last 20 years other than the crash of 2008.

Americans’ total credit card balance is $1.079 trillion in the third quarter of 2023, according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s up from a record $1.031 trillion in the second quarter of 2023, leaving the balance the highest since the New York Fed began tracking in 1999.

One Christmas staple – Santa Claus – was inspired by St. Nicholas: a real person. Born in third-century Turkey, he was known for his kindness and generosity toward less fortunate people. Today, he is portrayed by John Travolta, dancing to a Bee Gees’ tune, waving a Capitol One credit card at every store.

I know I am getting preachy and going to sound Draconian, but I think the Christmas tradition of big gift giving should be reserved for children and those less fortunate. Angel Trees, the Salvation Army, Barren River Area Safe Space, the Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society and whole host of other worthy charities and churches should be the beneficiaries of a lot of the money we spend on each other during the holidays.

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” is a line from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church. Written in response to a letter by 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon asking whether Santa Claus was real, the editorial was first published in the New York newspaper The Sun on September 21, 1897.

There are true Santas in our community during the Christmas season. The Franklin R. Sousley, Marine Corps League along with Bowling Green Fire Department firefighters spend Christmas morning delivering toys to hundreds of children who otherwise wouldn’t have a Christmas. Those toys are collected by local law enforcement agencies, volunteers and businesses during the year.

I will spend another Christmas morning documenting their work, the smiling faces and joy they bring in areas such as the Housing Authority of Bowling Green. While I have shared great moments on Christmas morning when my son was little, they are rivaled by the pure emotion of an underserved child getting an unexpected gift on Christmas Day.

I might be Grinch-y on the outside, but there is a soft side to this grizzled old photographer that now resembles Santa since growing a white beard. I hope you will consider giving less to those who don’t need it and more to folks who do. Not just on Christmas, but throughout the year.

– Daily News General Manager Joe Imel can be reached at (270) 783-3273 or via email at joe.imel@bgdailynews.com.