One of the most meaningful holidays for senior Christopher English is Christmas because he loves to get together with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Identifying as a catholic, that has always been the focal point of his Christmas; to go to Christmas Mass, pray and celebrate Christs’ birth. According to National Geographic, this was the main way people celebrated Christmas for years.
However, as the times have changed, so has the meaning and purpose of Christmas. Media has greatly influenced this culture shift of the way that we all view and celebrate Christmas.
With the old perspective being slowly ignored and forgotten, a new meaning to Christmas has come; celebrating with loved ones and being thankful for those around you, but specifically in a secular fashion. With this change over the past few years, some are not happy about the commercialization and marketing of Christmas.
According to yorktownsentry.com, “In the 1840s, marketers began to see Christmas as a prime opportunity to sell goods. Depictions of Santa were associated with advertisements in big cities like New York City and Boston, and the first in-store Santa appeared at Macy’s in 1862. The commercial ties of the holiday only grew from there.”
For example, this is a direct tie into why we see “mall Santas”. The family comes in to see Santa, yet they are surrounded by items that corporations want families to buy. And to target this festive cheer to hype up their products, companies use the “family and friends” perspective rather than the religious aspect.
Junior Finn Skobel who is a Knights for Christ Leader, says the Knights for Christ club preaches that Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ through the prayer, discussion and bible study which they do in the club.
“I feel like [how you decide to celebrate Christmas] is up to the person,” says Skobel. “And that’s why I celebrate it, because it makes the holiday more universal.”
As another member of Knights for Christ, English is deeply sorrowful to those who choose not to embrace the original meaning of Christmas
“[According to the Bible,] humans, by nature, want to think that we are our own gods,” English said. “I know that for me if I didn’t think Jesus died for me, I wouldn’t have hope in this world … I wouldn’t have a purpose.”
According to freshman River Newsted, celebrating whichever aspect you like both has its pros and cons.
Having a dad who is Catholic and a mother who is Jewish, Newsted, is split with the ideology of Christmas.
Sometimes going to church for Christmas, Newsted says he mainly celebrates the holiday to spend time with his family, even when he has to celebrate two separate holidays due to the religious differences. Not favoring one perspective over the other, Newsted, however, says celebrating for the focus of Jesus Christ allows him to attach how meaningful Christmas is to him. Even though he usually gets together with his family to celebrate Christmas, the times he does go to church and aim for the religious aspect, have a big impact on his perception of the holiday.
“[Going to church] makes me appreciate it
more and makes me think more about it,” River said. “I think a big part of it is the celebration aspect and that’s why those traditions come into play.”
Yet, both perspectives can both be beneficial to enjoy the Christmas holiday. Neewstead recognizes the importance of a well-rounded holiday by also celebrating in a secular way with all of his family, religious or not.
“It’s important to have family traditions with Christmas, it creates a sense of happiness … it just makes it more fun [when spending time with loved ones],” Newsted said. “People who celebrate religiously [are] also important because that’s a big part of what they believe in and, overall, it helps add to the beliefs of Christmas.”
