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Why are you wrong when you say that you have to “save Christmas”
Psychology
The sociologist and neurolinguistics expert Alicia Aradilla gives the keys to use the most appropriate words that allow us to “protect” and “protect” ourselves in a different Christmas
Companies that words matter. Much. The language that we use to refer to people, things or situations that are part of our life creates, builds, configures, contains, houses and shapes that reality that we are living, both in our heads and collectively. That is why it is so important to take care of and pamper the words we use because, as proposed by the sociologist and expert in neurolinguistics Alicia Aradilla, be aware of our language It is an opportunity to live reality as we wish.
Throughout this year, new terms have been introduced into society in an attempt to reflect the new circumstances. Thus, in February the WHO changed the expression «Coronavirus de
Wuhan “to refer to” Covid-19 “in order to avoid stigmatization.
But not all the expressions used in these months were correct, since the sociologist Alicia Aradilla warned of the danger of using the term “New normal.” During the de-escalation period, this concept flooded not only the media, but also day-to-day conversations. It became part of our life almost without realizing it and, according to the expert, it was not an accurate expression because it made us trust ourselves and it was the germ of the second wave.
Something similar is what, according to the alert, is happening with the references to the Christmas holidays. The expression “Save Christmas” the concept of “new normal” is circulating as merrily as it once did, and that may lead us to stumble over the same stone. «We fall back on inappropriate, inefficient and dangerous terms from the perspective of sociology (as a group) and from the field of neurolinguistics (as individuals) since this concept is subject to very different interpretations depending on the interests and motivations of each one, ”he reveals.
Thus, she explains that everyone can interpret this concept based on what they need, what has made them suffer or want to change or what they have “fresher” or “hotter” in their mind so that there will be people who need sell because they have a business, people who really want to party because “it’s time” and people who try to promote family reunions at all costs. And all that, according to Aradilla alerts, will create a multiplicity of risk situations which can lead to “saving Christmas” meaning anything but “saving life,” which is what is really important.
So what does “save Christmas” really mean? Save the economic situation? Save an ancient ritual? Do we really think that if we don’t celebrate Christmas “like always” this year, we run the risk of losing that tradition? As the sociologist explains, if we think of Christmas as a symbolic ritual, the truth is that “There is nothing to save” because, as clarified, the rituals Groups like Christmas are so established in society that their survival is guaranteed over specific circumstances.
Moreover, according to predictions, next year there will likely be a certain exaltation and exaggeration both in Christmas celebrations and in shopping, consumption, travel, family and friends gatherings … «There will be a kind of exaggeration for compensation. Therefore it seems absurd to think that Christmas is going to stop being celebrated because one year we don’t do it as usual, ”he says.
If what we mean when we say “save Christmas” is “Keep consumption statistics” and we refer to this term from an economic perspective, Aradilla believes that it would be more appropriate to use specific and descriptive economic language rather than allegorical or metaphorical.
“Save life”, a more appropriate concept
The “neurologically” most appropriate message does not always meet the requirements of political correctness. «Nobody dares to give the direct message and metaphors are used, but given the possible risks that a third wave entails it would be necessary to be more courageous when communicating the messages appropriately from the media and from the political class, “Aradilla clarifies.
In short, the sociologist assures that the expression “saving Christmas” has been used in a somewhat “perverse” way when in reality what should be used is the expression “Save life at Christmas”. “The idea that should underlie to avoid a third wave of this pandemic is to try to celebrate life at Christmas from a distance, so that they are not dates in which health risks are caused,” he argues.
If I say “save life” I am stimulating those paths of intrinsic motivation and connection with our most reptilian part (search for physical survival) that are so necessary in this context. But if we say “save Christmas” we are using a metaphor so charged with social significance, so broad and so nuanced that our mind collapses.
What if my family insists on celebrating Christmas “like always”?
In the absence of a few days for the start of the Christmas celebrations, family and personal confrontations arise over possible group lunches and dinners. Some have decided that this year Christmas will be different and there will be no meetings, but others do not conceive the idea of not being able to celebrate it “as always.”
Faced with this situation, the sociologist appeals to individual and collective responsibility and recalls that in reality Christmas celebrations are social agreements that are based on cultural beliefs and that are not something natural.
«People who find it difficult to think of a Christmas without celebrations cling to their beliefs as if they were absolute truths and are not able to identify that it is actually a social construction that we can and must change this year to protect ourselves and to to protect. We have to act with patience and also show compassion towards these people but we must also remain firm if we have decided to join the common goal that is to save lives ”, he proposes.