Each week, Bear Facts will post an article from a past issue.  These articles can demonstrate what life was like for a high school student in that year.  What seemed important to them that seems commonplace now?  This article ran in December 1979.

By Linnae Johnson

What has happened to the true meaning of Christmas? Where has it gone? Has it been sold? These questions may sound silly, but in more ways than one they are very realistic.

For instance, have you ever watched a Christmas special and had it interrupted every ten minuits such as the “Racko Bottlecap Unscrewer,” or a “Spiral Garnish Maker,” will make the perfect Christmas present?

Even Santa has gone commercial. For example, recently a child taken to sit on Santa’s lap at a nearby mall asked for a dolly and a teddy bear. Santa replied, “Wouldn’t you rather have a Barbie Townhouse or a Bigwheel?”

If Christmas is going to survive we had all better start remembering what it is really all about, instead of how we can profit from it.