The Commercialisation of Christmas

Every year - every single year - people whine and bellyache about the increasing commercialisation of Christmas. The immediate question is what is modern Christmas being compared to? When was Christmas less commercial? During the Blitz, when Britain was struggling to survive? During the Dark Ages, where Christmas was spent foraging for food and living in one's own feculence? Yes, modern Christmas maybe commercialised, but that is not a bad thing.

See, as someone who isn't a big fan of Christmas starting in October or the avalanche of Christmas related advertising that appears everywhere at this time of year, I can understand why people complain about the current state of Christmas. But that is the nature of a capitalist economy. Companies will vie for your attention because they want you to buy their products. Yeah, it is kind of irritating, but it also gives you choice. You can choose between products to give and receive for Christmas. You can choose what you want to eat over the Christmas period. All the advertising, all the tacky spots and endless, shameless promotion is people trying to sell stuff to you that might help to make your Christmas better. Look at it this way - the commercialisation is a means to an end. The end being a more enjoyable Christmas for you, your friends and your family.

At the end of the day, a commercialised Christmas may well see you gorging yourself on food after receiving a gift that you don't really need but kind of wanted anyway. Or you can have a "purer" sort of Christmas, where you worship the supposed virgin birth of a long-dead dude who claimed to be the son of a non-existent God. I know which option I prefer.