I bet you can’t remember what you got for Christmas last year. Okay, maybe if you got a car, a phone, or something big, but if you got five shirts, I doubt you remember which five you got and who gave you what.
Not only has the original meaning of Christmas been lost, but the idea of gift-giving has become oversaturated by the overconsumption that the commercialization of Christmas has promoted.
“You can’t take Christ out of Christmas” is a common phrase uttered by Christians across the globe. As much as Christians may want this to be a reality, Christmas has become a holiday that can not only be celebrated religiously but secularly, which has been highly emphasized by commercialization.
Regardless of religious affiliation, Christmastime brings a sense of joy amidst those who celebrate. The music, the lights, and the traditions are just some of the attributes that make Christmas, Christmas.
Ultimately, “the one and most important thing about Christmas is Jesus Christ,” according to Rev. Nicholas Sertich.
“In the darkness and coldness that is winter, the light of God has shown and brings light and warmth and hope and so much more to our world than just putting out a snowman outside the house and [exchanging] some gifts,” Sertich said. “It can look pretty and it can be fun, but without that foundation it’s nothing more than just another time to have a good time.”
According to a study conducted by Lifeway Research, less than half of Americans attend church as part of their Christmas celebrations. This is especially striking since 9 out of 10 Americans celebrate the holiday.
So, why has this happened? What once began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ has turned into a commercialized money-grab for companies to promote consumerism.
With companies capitalizing on religion by commercializing Christmas, the origin of Christmas has become buried deeper amongst the craze of gift shopping.
“I think Christmas has become such a market…and I think that distracts us from the good aspects of it: family, friends, [and] giving to others who don't have anything, ” Sertich said.
Sophia Pimentel, a senior criminal justice major, said she has celebrated Christmas since she was a child; however, both the magic and the celebration of Christ’s birth she experienced as a child have lessened from the holiday’s increased commercialism.
“[Christmas has] turned into something for financial gain at this point…I feel that it's kind of losing its charm that it once had,” Pimentel said. “If you're not actively going to Christmas masses, or, celebrating it in the religious sense, then it's kind of all about presents and the commercial.”
Pimentel certainly has a point. In fact, Business Wire reported that during the 2024 holiday season, the online market alone generated $280.4 billion in sales. Now more than ever, overconsumption during Christmas time has been made easy due to online shopping and sale promotions like Black Friday.
“You can go to Home Goods and TJ Maxx and they start as early as October putting out Christmas decorations,” Pimentel said. “Then there’s Black Friday, which is almost promoting an overconsumption of products people will use for Christmas.”
Not only do people spend large amounts of money on the gifts themselves, but they also have to buy the supplies to wrap them.
“Just to even make your present aesthetic, you have to wrap it; you have to put a ribbon; you have to put a little tag on it; you have to take that apart, and then there's a box that's probably holding the item and then you have to take the box apart and then get the gift inside,” Pimentel said.
Then, the worst part, it all gets thrown away. Half the time, the gift was purchased from a sale or a trend and the product will be forgotten about.
It seems the true meaning of Christmas has been lost amongst “sales” tags and trending products.
Alan Martinez, a senior sports management and finance major, expressed that he is an avid Christmas fan, and his family celebrated both the religious and secular aspects of the holiday.
“My parents would always tell me to go to sleep at precisely 11:55 p.m. because Santa was coming down the chimney,” Martinez said. “The faith aspect was always really important too…we’d go to Christmas mass to celebrate the birth of Jesus.”
While Martinez celebrated the religious aspect of Christmas when he was younger, as he has grown, that has begun to slip away, which Martinez partially credits to commercialization.
“[The commercialization of Christmas] is really annoying because back then, people would enjoy what they got, whether it was a paperclip or a thumbtack, as long as it reminds you of the person…it meant more about loving your gift because a loved one was giving it to you and they thought of it for you,” Martinez said. “But now, if you don't give them a Ferrari, or you don't give them the new Sephora then they're gonna act all out and say, ‘You don't love me.’”
Pimentel also commented on the loss of meaningful gifts.
“Everyone's just trying to find the next viral gift and they're not even focusing on just spending time with family,” Pimentel said. “They're focusing on posting and getting all the aesthetic decorations.”
Martinez said, unfortunately, he has witnessed his family slowly start to show this behavior, despite celebrating the religious aspect of Christmas when he was younger.
“I don't wish that upon any other family because you lose the spirit of Christmas and, at the end of the day, that's something that we shouldn't have when it comes to Christmas,” Martinez said.
Mariana Soler, a senior diplomacy, economics and pre-law major, said that, coming from a Hispanic household, she and her family celebrated the religious Christmas tradition.
“There’s a lot of prayer and giving love back to Jesus,” Soler said.
However, when Soler moved to the United States, she noticed that there is a greater emphasis on the commercial aspect of Christmas.
“I felt like it became more about gift giving here,” Soler said. “I love it, but I would become stressed so often because I'm like, ‘I don't know what to get anybody’...it just masked my enjoyment for Christmas because I just want it to be a family event.”
Not only have those who celebrate Christmas noticed the issues commercialization has caused to the holiday, but so have those who celebrate other religious holidays.
Rachel Kelman, a junior marketing major, celebrates Jewish culture, including holidays like Hanukkah.
Kelman grew up celebrating Hanukkah and noticed that the holiday seemed to have become commercialized in response to the commercialization of Christmas.
“You don't see as much Hanukkah decor as you would Christmas,” Kelman said. “With Christmas, it's become more of, like, an American holiday because it's really a consumer holiday because marketers and advertisers [view it] as an opportunity… in response to that, they've also seen it as an opportunity to commercialize Hanukkah.”
From an outside perspective, Kelman is still able to understand just how committed society is to the idea of secular Christmas, yet is able to find a positive within the negative attributes, as she sees it could be an opportunity to show the magic of Hanukkah.
“One way to look at it, in the more religious world…the focus isn't on the religious aspect anymore,” Kelman said. “Then the other way [to look at it], I would say, representation matters…seeing the Hanukkah decor in stores and stuff is more of a way to celebrate our identity and kind of be proud of who we are amongst all of the magic that is Christmas [and remind others] that we're still here.”
While some students have expressed the negatives about the commercialization of Christmas, Sertich, like Kelman, was able to find a positive amidst the negative shadows of commercialization.
“At least people still acknowledge that ‘hey, maybe I should slow down and maybe get something for somebody I care about,’ even if they don't believe in God,” Sertich said. “I think it shows that our hearts are still open at the end of the day to the goodness behind it.”
Weeding through the commercialization, Sertich believes that Christmas can be an opportunity for Christians to witness [share the gospel with someone else] to those who only celebrate the secular aspects of the holiday.
“I do think it's an opportunity for people who do believe to have a conversation with people about, well, why do they celebrate Christmas, even if they don't believe in anything,” Sertich said. “[Believers can say] ‘Well we love our family, we love our friends, but at Christmas, the reason why we love our family and our friends is because God has first loved us.’”
After speaking with students, it became apparent that the commercialization of Christmas has caused people to grow a resentment towards the holiday in their hearts due to the oversaturation of the Christmas market.
For those that deal with disillusionment with the Christmas market, Sertich said to determine why you feel how you feel.
“Maybe that's God moving your heart somehow to see what is the real meaning behind Christmas,” Sertich said. “Ask themselves, ‘Is this simply cards and signs on buildings that say peace and joy and hope and love, just words that we take down after Christmas, or is there something more meaningful there at Christmastime?’”
Despite the commercialization of Christmas, both Christians and non-Christians still find joy in the holiday.
“People still celebrate it,” Pimentel said. “People still enjoy it. People still love Christmas. As for the religious aspect, there will always be Christ in Christmas, and we will always be celebrating the birth of Christ.”
If you’re feeling discouraged, Sertich reminds us, “if you want to see something done about it, do it and live your faith, give a witness and show that there's something more meaningful to [Christmas].”
Lakyn Austin is the head editor of The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at lakyn.austin@student.shu.edu.
