Let me start by saying the more popular a religion is, the more likely it is to be commercialised.
How did this all start?
The church in Rome was the first to celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. This was in the 4th century, during the reign of Constantine. To weaken non-Christian traditions, Saturnalia was seen as the perfect basis for a celebration of the birth of Jesus. It included the exchange of gifts, candle lighting, decorating, feasting, and singing, which has evolved—or should I say, continued—to this day.
In 1862, Macy’s was the first to feature an in-store Santa for children to visit. Macy’s, Selfridges, and Harrods decorated their storefronts with lights, wreaths, garlands, mistletoes, fake snow, and Christmas trees. Unknown to many, the major target here was Christmas bonuses and workers’ salaries 😁😁.
From the early to mid-1900s, massive advertising campaigns full of holiday tunes and colorful decorations filled radiowaves, TV stations, and storefronts, with Coca-Cola sitting pretty at the top of this table. They practically rebranded Santa 🎅.
Macy’s signaled the beginning of holiday spending with its first Thanksgiving Parade in 1924. America spends the most money on Christmas. In 2021, a combined $86.7 billion was spent, and it has steadily climbed each year in the last 20 years. Even Hollywood seems to have a special department and budget for Christmas movies because Universal Studios and Hallmark are able to air Christmas movies back-to-back daily without repeating any.
This story won’t be complete without mentioning Coca-Cola. They began their Christmas advertising in the 1920s, mostly magazine ads. Their first Santa ad featured a very strict-looking Santa. In the ’30s, Santa was shown drinking from a bottle of Coke. A good thing their brand colors are red and white, which fit perfectly with Santa’s costume colors.
These campaigns have drawn in so many for decades and have now become a tradition and culture that is not only accepted but also looked forward to. It’s safe to say it isn’t going away anytime soon. The theme or slogan “the season of giving” works for the stores because the belief helps them sell so much. People never can stop themselves from shopping, especially when prices drop and they are given the opportunity to buy really nice things at discounted prices.
Even the Christmas trees come in different colors now to give buyers options to choose from.
And so, practically every business now—both global brands and small to medium-scale enterprises—follows the trend by creating campaigns, ads, discounts, bundle offers, and more, all in a bid to tap into the Christmas buzz to make more money. It works every year because people, the world over, also come prepared to spend money.
Here in Nigeria, there’s so much money in circulation in December, with cash gifts a huge part of Christmas celebrations. Growing up as a child, every uncle who visited gave us money. So really, Christmas was the best time of the year.
Because the sale of drinks rises during this period, soft drink and fruit juice companies use this time to launch new products into the market, giving even more options to choose from and more reasons to spend. The profit seems to be instant too. I have observed this particular trend for some years now.
There is a certain group of people who aren’t excited about how the focus of Christmas has shifted from the birth of our Lord, and they commit to reminding us every year that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” I strongly agree that, in all of this, we shouldn’t forget what Christmas really is about.
Many also don’t buy into the “season of giving and sharing” slogan because giving and sharing—basically loving others—should be an all-year lifestyle.
There are also others who feel bad when they don’t have enough to do all that they’d love to do, especially for their families. Some get so desperate that they resort to mischief, offenses, and even crime. So make no mistake about it—the Christmas season also comes with some amount of pressure for some people.
Aside from the massive shopping and spending, feasting, and all, Christmas is best spent with family and loved ones. Many people travel during this period just to be home with family. I think this is the best part. Many use it as an opportunity to catch up on all the times they’ve been away.
I love Christmas. I’m happy that the birth of Jesus is so popular and celebrated even by many who don’t know Him.
As a businesswoman, I understand that the whole shopping and spending has blessed businesses and helped individuals earn salaries, bonuses, and profits. So if you’re a business owner, you’ll also be able to retain your customers by creating special Christmas packages, or you stand a chance of losing your customers to the competition. There are so many things you can do: create bundle offers, offer free delivery for sales up to a certain amount, offer free wrapping of gifts, offer discounts, and more. Create a sense of urgency too, and see what happens.
Allow me to stop here because I still have a Christmas menu to plan.
Merry Christmas 🎄🎁❄🎅.
- Joy Mfon Essien is an Entrepreneur and the CEO, of Discover Essence Media, Millionaire Woman Soapworks and Delicioso Foods. Writer, TV presenter and producer, Wellness Coach and mom of two.
