Christmas. A time of festivity, joy, and family. However, does Christmas mean the same thing as it has over the last few millennia since the tradition started?

Christmas in England has been shaped over the centuries by many different periods in history, such as celebrating the winter solstice, honouring a Roman god, and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. On the whole, the celebration of Christmas has been a religious one over anything else. The form of celebration we’re most accustomed to in the 21st Century is the birth of Jesus Christ, and with England previously being a predominantly Christian country, this is no surprise. There are many long-standing traditions – such as nativities performed by children depicting Jesus’ birth, and singing Christmas carols at church services. These have religious origins, yet are performed so often by so many nationwide, that they have lost their original meanings.

However, in the last few decades there has been an increase of secularisation (decline in religion) in the UK due to many factors, causing the question to be asked; is Christmas still a religious holiday or is it purely commercial? Not only has secularisation become more commonplace, but as the UK has become more culturally diverse, the religious meaning behind Christmas has been less celebrated. Many people who celebrate Christmas now do so for the commercial aspect and to spend time with family.

“I grew up in a non-religious family, who themselves came from parents who didn’t follow any religion, so I grew up with Christmas always being about buying gifts for each other, and getting to see family members who often lived too far away to visit on a regular basis.” says Danny Cater from Chigwell Row.

Over the last several decades, companies have taken advantage of the Christmas season as an opportunity to make more money, such as when Coca-Cola changed the outfit colour of Father Christmas to red to match their own branding (he used to be green before the 1930s), or how many brands release Christmas-related products such as seasonal fragrances, or flavours of food. This shows how as a society, we have found a way to turn something as symbolic and religious as Christmas into a marketing scheme to boost sales at the end of the year.

Due to the evolution of this winter holiday, how are we to know that it won’t continue to change over the next few centuries? We have no way of knowing whether Christmas will still even be a religious holiday, or if it will become completely commercialised like Black Friday.