Commercializing Christmas

Darby Kim, Staff Writer

A little girl dressed in candy-cane-printed pajamas and reindeer slippers is deprived of sleep on the night before Christmas from the adrenaline rushing through her body to open her presents from “Santa.”

That right there is the problem. We’ve created an unrealistic fairytale to spoil our children and have stripped away any Christian traditions from Christmas. From what began as a family-oriented, religious holiday transformed into a day full of greed.

Back in the third century A.D. when Christmas originated, Christians focused on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends to spread love and joy.

Now we create a never-ending Christmas list and look forward to opening our presents.

Over time, we formed a fictitious character which fooled innocent children into believing in an idea that would later only be shattered by truth. Even television shows and movies revolve around Santa, presents, elves, reindeers, and candy canes; which gives the wrong impression of Christmas to new generations of children.

Advertisements and commercials promoting sales and gifts in order to entice people to buy more is also blinding consumers from the original traditions. Roadways grow dotted with billboards by corporations such as Toys-R-Us and televisions become continuous streams of commercials persuading you to buy the next best toy.

Even the very name of this holiday has been altered from “Christmas” to “X-mas” in slang, thus dropping the idea of Jesus Christ in Christmas in all.

Of course everyone has their own Christmas traditions, for this holiday has grown to become multicultural. Not everyone has to celebrate Christ on this day and can focus on love, happiness, and generosity instead. However, our society has taken it overboard, and as a result we have lost the main idea of this holiday by falling into unrealistic, greedy celebrations.

We blind our own senses telling ourselves we do not take advantage of Christmas and that we do celebrate it with loved ones for the right reasons, but even in family gatherings most children only attend for the food and presents.

These children, upon receiving presents, turn the day into a contest to see who receives the most expensive gifts; winner gets bragging rights. These comparisons can be found as self-deprecating to anyone less fortunate, rather than children simply appreciating their gifts.

I’m not saying everyone has fallen into the commercialized rendition of Christmas, but as a culture, we have shifted and strayed away from the true and treasured meaning of the holiday. This time is meant to be joyful and grateful, but not through materialistic items, this feeling should come from family and friends.

Next time a family gathering for Christmas comes around, make sure to let your family and friends know how much you care for and appreciate them.