… is from Ayn Rand’s December 1976 The Objectivist Calendar, as quoted by my colleague Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution (original emphasis):
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions – the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors – provide the city with a spectacular display, which only “commercial greed” could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
I add here, as many others have noted in many other places, that this commercial spirit entices non-Christians to peacefully and creatively assist Christians’ to better celebrate their religious holidays – especially, of course, Christmas. To mention only two famous retailers: the Bloomingdale brothers were Jewish, as was Adam Gimbel. And in northern Virginia, where I live, the largest and most vibrant shopping mall is Tyson’s Corner, which at Christmas is packed with customers and done-out to the hilt with Christmas decorations. This shopping mall was developed by Ted Lerner, who was raised in an orthodox Jewish family.
Oh, don’t forget that the iconic Christmas song “White Christmas” was composed by another Jew, Irving Berlin. (Berlin also composed “Easter Parade.”)
Peace and Free Trade
