It seems only recently that the magical 25-day run-up to Christmas was an epic yet homely conclusion to the year, yet increasingly, it seems to be that Christmas Spirit has been created inane, losing its typical lustre and anticipation.

 

What made Christmas so special?

One argument could be the commercialisation of Christmas and the endearing gift-giving spirit- while having a sense that Christmas is only what it is due to cold corporation logic may sour the spirit of Christmas, the impact Coca Cola and other businesses had on an international festival is by no means little- both the festive cheer and gift-giving sense of the holiday was predominantly from commercial descent. However, in recent years, the great deal of marketing and definition of Christmas Spirit has reduced- perhaps now it is so ingrained in public culture that brands see little gain from investiture in revolutionising and capitalising Christmas yet as a result decreasing hype for Christmas.

Or, perhaps the commercial element and (spoiler alert) quasi-mass deception of Santa has exhausted the willingness of parents, who are instrumental in the development of a generation’s appreciation for Christmas. Festival goodwill has gradually disappeared, people viewing it as more of a chore and societal expectation than the simple hearted experience it once was. Additionally, some low-effort advertisements and over-used Christmas songs have seemingly ruined public opinion, with the tedium of being force-fed the annual dose of Christmas music, understandably, Christmas is now more of a punching gap to show one’s denial of commercial marketing where hatred to corporations is increasing.

 

However, there is a distinct goodwill towards the ‘old Christmas’, where fondness is directed not at the marketing(which underpins such memories), but the happiness at how out of order the festival was- where parents would let giddy children, brimming with excitement at the different occasion, peak and prod at presents earlier than usual, having grand family gatherings and hushed blasphemous speak of the improbability of Santa, it was clearly characterised as a novel idea, that defined itself by the way a particular family would approach it- perhaps putting up an elaborate Christmas tree with celebrations overflowing with grandeur, or merely having a quaint gathering among family and friends- it was as you made it, not unsimilar to the time it was so prolific in.

 

In my eyes, Christmas is a microcosm of public hate and discordance towards relics of their idealised past, where Christmas represented its time so well- where corporation’s influence on one’s life was hardly being realised and archaic, yet comforting technologies and traditions were discarded by a collective generation and thus their subsequent generations, seeing the corporate influence as a more and more bad thing in one’s life- billionaires and great business’s being increasingly doubted, with hate and uncertainty being directed at their past that was ruined perceived through crimson-tinted glasses.

 

In the future, I can see two paths settling into view- where commercialisation increases and public opinion continues to either sour or grow used to, or Christmas as a concept is restored to its humble 25 days with quaint gift giving. I’ll leave it to your discretion which you see occurring.