Did Americans Ruin the Meaning of Christmas?
Sophia Bunker
Mr. Shipman
AP English 10 Language/composition
12/21/16
Did Americans Ruin the Meaning of Christmas?
Christmas is over commercialized. The true meaning of this religious day has been drowned by materialistic items and synthetic happiness. Many forget or never learn in the first place what the day is truly about, and competitive American culture overtime has continued to exploit Christmas.
Americans are often seen as extremely arrogant and entitled. Christmas is a good background for the stereotype. In the United States, Christmas has long been over commercialized by encouraging people to spend more money, rather than spend more time with one another. Can Americans still have a ‘Merry Christmas’ without presents being the focal point?
I have always loved Christmas. I love being surrounded by the tree, cookies, family, candy, snow, lights, hot chocolate, movies and music. This is part of the Christmas spirit to me. But there is one thing I have naturally come to appreciate even more. Presents. I’m just being honest. The very first thing I tend to think of when I think about the holidays is presents. You can call me selfish, but I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. Especially as a teenager living in America.
Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schultz
“In our 2014 survey, majorities said buying and receiving gifts makes them feel joyful (83%) and generous (78%), but considerable minorities also said it makes them feel stretched thin financially (46%), stressed out (36%) or wasteful (23%). Fewer than half of U.S. adults (45%) say they are looking forward “a lot” to giving and receiving gifts.” (Lipka)
The media has made things worse by exploiting “the season to be jolly,” and helped to manufacture happiness and distort the true meaning of Christmas. Do not take this essay as me shaming and blaming American culture for everything. Also, I’m not saying presents should be written out of Christmas forever. I simply believe gift giving should not be the main focus. At a glance, it hardly even seems like a religious holiday, especially to people who are not deeply committed to practicing Christianity.
(Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schultz)
Over commercialization has resulted in overspending, overreaching, and overworking for many individuals. Stress. “For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don’t have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends.” (Noebel). In order to compensate for spending too much money buying gifts, employees end up having to work extra jobs or extra long hours to either earn extra money to afford presents, or to be functional for those who still need to shop. “According to a November poll conducted by Gallup, the average shopper intends to spend an average of $830 on gifts this year. Of all those surveyed, 30 percent, however, plan on spending over $1,000. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 17 percent only plan on spending between $100 and $249.” (Martin).
Christmas in some ways has also become a competition. A war of wealth. Who can receive the most expensive gift? Who can buy the most expensive gift? The pressure is on. Many people equate the value of a gift to how much someone cares about another person. It is an enormous amount of pressure people put on themselves and others. It seems as though people feel incomplete without a mountain of wrapped boxes under their LED illuminated Christmas tree.
I remember a conversation I had with another girl in fourth grade. My best friend at the time. This conversation was kind of the stimulus for this whole paper. She told me about how she went to her Grandma’s house in North Dakota with her family and some extended family members. She was very upset the day we talked as she recounted the day. She told me how all she had gotten for Christmas was a too-small, thin purple robe with Dora the Explorer on the back of it, and a mini stocking full of candy. At first, I truly felt bad for her. I went home later that day and started assembling a pile of things in my room. Nice things. Two things I distinctly remember were a mint condition, clear yoyo with a swirling pattern in the plastic on both sides. It even lit up. The other item was a small plastic gumball machine with gumballs inside. Every time you twisted the flimsy plastic knob gum rolled out. Excited, I began to wrap up the ten or so items I gathered and planned on giving to my friend the next time I saw her. My mom noticed shortly after I began wrapping, and she asked me who they were for. I told her who, and I told her why.
She taught me something really important that day. It was something I had been realizing overtime, but it finally really made sense. It gave me a new perspective that I refer to more and more. It also helped me to see the important things in life. My friend spent time with her whole family. Her grandma was healthy. Her family was healthy. She was healthy. They had fun. They celebrated. They prayed. Her family made the most of what they had, and gave her what they could. They were together and that is what Christmas is about. I had looked at it all wrong. I think about that friend and this story often this time of year. It’s true. In the end I gave two things to her, but not because I felt like I had to as I did before. I wasn’t trying to play Santa. The gifts were a bonus. Something I wanted to give because she was my friend.
Some people may argue that Christmas has remained pure. They may say people truly do give purely out of kindness and care for someone else. The spirit of giving. While that may be true, you have to think about what motivates that behavior. You also have to consider what is being given. For example, what makes a high-end perfume better or different than a heartfelt homemade card as a gift? The price tag? As far as I see, both are potentially sentimental and meaningful, but will one make someone “happier” or feel more “valued” due to a higher price on the market? Maybe.
Fortunately, this time of year is not all stress and has not always been so commercialized. Although it is not always evident, there are still many things to remind us of the true meaning and focus of Christma, celebrating the birth of Christ, spending time with friends and family, reading Christmas stories, seeing the nativity play. The real meaning of Christmas is not lost so long as we keep these little reminders.
In conclusion, Christmas has increasingly become commercialized. Even though enjoying presents is a reality for many people, the Spirit of Christmas still rings true. And it is that spirit I most appreciate during the holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
Bunker 1
Works Cited
“2016 Planned Christmas Spending.” 2016 Planned Christmas Spending. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
History.com Staff. “History of Christmas.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
Http://www.abc.net.au/news/julia-baird/4512348. “Julia Baird: How to Reclaim the True Meaning of Christmas.” ABC News. N.p., 20 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
Lipka, Michael. “5 Facts about Christmas in America.” Pew Research Center. N.p., 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2016.
Martin, Lauren. “Here’s How Much People Actually Spend On Christmas Gifts.” ELLE DECOR. N.p., 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
Noebel, Martha. “The Real Meaning Of Christmas.” CBN.com (beta). N.p., 14 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
