The Silversmiths of Ephesus and Christmas

The connection was made as Jocelyn and I reflect on a possible Christmas RE lesson at Brookfield for Primary 6 and 7.
Then into the equation came the story from UNICEF about the UK and the consumerist society. Following this was a comment
from Karen, our distinguished RE leader that Boxing day is the worst day in Australia for suicides.
How do folk claiming membership of the Kingdom of God and trustfully and obediently following Jesus the Messiah and true
King of All address this?
The story of the Silversmiths appears in Acts 19
23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.’
When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion; and people* rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia,* who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?* Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our* goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further* you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Then came the story from UNICEF
"Cycle of 'compulsive consumerism' leaves British family life in crisis, Unicef study finds British parents are trapping their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism" by showering them with toys and designer labels instead of spending quality time with them, a UN report has found."

Added to this is the financial commentary from retailers on the importance of Christmas for their balance sheets. There is a note of entrapment about this. Many people dependent for their livelihoods on this consumerist society but that was the confronting challenge for the Silversmiths of Ephesus.

Then follows a comment about Boxing Day suicides. We do not have to move to suicide before we note serious fault lines in society. The debt level significantly increased over this 'season'

What if? We followed the Kingdom story and Christians opted out of the consumerist society for the sake of this society and its children ?? Or should I write ... follow the Kingdom story rather than the consumerist society story which we ought to be doing anyway.

How then would we celebrate Christmas and how would we help those who are heading for suicidal conclusions to their lives?

What would Christmas celebration look like. ..The Promise is fulfilled … the Time is Now … The Messiah the Lord of All reigns and ….. actually there is little reference to the Birth of Jesus in the New Testament …. The main focus is on the Death .. Resurrection and Ascension of the Messiah.
Your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven …. and so how should we live?