My religious background and personal identity are tied to U.S. Christianity, though I am no longer really an active adherent. And as part of this experience, one of the two most important Christian holidays that we celebrate is Christmas. In my lifetime, I have noticed that commercialization of that holiday has intensified and commemoration of the religious aspects of Christmas seems to have faded into the shadows. For me, Christmas has become little more than a shopping extravaganza, not that I am opposed to gift giving, but the commercial aspects have mushroomed out of control, I believe.
That's why I have been interested to observe what appears to be a similar phenomenon here in Jakarta, the city housing the world's largest population of Muslims. I've been out shopping recently at a few malls and I have noticed what looks to me like a parallel commercialization of Ramadan reminiscent of Christmas in my land. Perhaps I am not observing the signs and clues properly and I don't have the cultural knowledge to know if business interests are starting to overshadow the spiritual meaning of Ramadan. Are my Western eyes putting too much emphasis on something that really isn't happening? Or is this specifically a South East Asian phenomenon, only happening in affluent parts of the region? (Shopping areas in wealthy neighborhoods of Kuala Lumpur seemed to mirror this commercialization as well.)
I will not draw any conclusions about what all these images mean or if they are even significant. You may observe these images and decide for yourself what to make of it all.
Am I the only person to find this ad outside of a mall restaurant to be strangely ironic?
The mannequin here seems peculiarly unrelated to the message displayed in front of him.
Free engraving--another surprising service to associate with Ramadan, it seems.
This elaborate display greets those who enter Lotte Shopping Avenue. You are entering the world of "Majestic" Ramadan.
The more you shop, the more Ramadan Rewards you receive.
King Rabbit provides special savings too.
This elaborate display is from a mall in Malaysia. Each mall tries to outdo the others by creating the most magnificent showcase where you can pose for pictures with your family.
Don't miss the Majestic Ramadan Bazar, where you can get 70% off the price of suitcases.
Fancy Ramadan clothing (or maybe it's for Eid?) is something else that is marketed intensely.
Specials on suitcases everywhere. Don't know why suitcases seem to be the biggest Ramadan sale item this year. (Backlog of supply from no one buying them during the pandemic and now possibly people are traveling again and suddenly are in the market for suitcases, I suppose?) I actually needed a much bigger suitcase than I currently have for my big June trip, so got an incredible deal on a Delsey brand suitcase from Paris.
So, now that you've witnessed all these Ramadan shopping images, what conclusions, if any, should I draw?
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