Is your Christmas too commercial?
Christmas. It’s nearly here! The holiday we have been preparing for since…well, it feels like forever. Organising food, family, friends, and, of course, decorations and presents. Overall, a huge chunk out of most people’s savings accounts. During the festive season many people are under a lot of pressure, to host a memorable day or live up to the expectations of a commercialised Christmas.
Christmas was first connected to commercialisation way back in the1840s, when Sir Henry Cole certified the first ever (official) Christmas card. Retailers saw Christmas as an easy way to sell their goods. Christmas continued to grow, with sales and great deals overtaking many stores.
However, it didn’t stop there. Many songs and movies were created about Christmas, such as All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, released in November 1994, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed by Ron Howard and created in 2000. Both of these hits, and many more, have been loved by countless people around the world, sharing a special holiday with family and friends.
A huge amount of money is put into the festive season, whether it be for decorations, food, or presents. In 2022 the overall spending during the festivities in America was a colossal $936.3 billion USD, which is $1408.9 billion AUD! To put this into context, you could raise around 110 million children with this amount of money!
People are encouraging this, with the cost continuing to grow each year. Sales such as Black Friday, the Friday after the Thanksgiving weekend, and Cyber Monday, as well as Boxing Day sales the day after Christmas. Customers save their money for big sales like this, where they can splurge on gifts for others, and often, themselves.
This isn’t all. During the festive season, around 7 million tonnes of food are wasted, Christmas trees are discarded without a second thought, and let’s not forget all the wrapping paper and unwanted Christmas cards.
So, what can we do to decrease the impact that this joyous occasion has on the world?
There are many parts of festivities and customs that we can alter to create an eco-friendly, less costly Christmas. We can reduce our food waste by cooking portions that are more suited to the amount of people we are providing for. Give leftovers to neighbour’s chickens, or put them in a compost bin. You can recycle gift wrap and cards, as long as it is just the paper and no tape, glitter or ribbons are put in to be recycled with them. Use real Christmas trees instead of fake ones, as they biodegrade easily in your green bin instead of landfill, where fake plastic trees sit for many years. Next, to reduce cost and commercialisation, make homemade gifts, baked goods such as gingerbread, or crafts, which children love to participate in.
All of these things help to reduce the commercialisation and the overall cost of Christmas, not just the economical side of things, but the environmental as well. And remember, Christmas is a time to have fun with family and friends, it’s about the little things, not just the presents!
Louisa HB, Year 8