Christmas! The time for family, food, gift-giving, and… Capitalism? Yes, that’s right, the holiday season, particularly Christmas, has become saturated with greed, focused on making money rather than caring for your fellow neighbour and spreading good cheer. The entire idea of gift-giving is centred around receiving something in return rather than giving for the sake of giving. Even our modern interpretation of Santa Claus was partially invented by the Coca-Cola to sell more bottles of Coke.

Where and how did this all start? The cascade of Christmas Capitalism began in the mid-1800s when store owners and corporations realized they could utilize Christmas, and more specifically, the character of Santa Claus, to boost sales. It snow-balled into what we know it for today, a holiday centred around greed.

What is worse than the exploitation of the holidays is the severe mistreatment of retail workers who are forced to work long hours and meet impossible quotas for the holiday season. Furthermore, the season has a severe impact on our planet, creating obscene amounts of waste from wrapping paper, gift bags and packaging. Christmas has gone from a celebration of the birth of Christ to becoming a holiday obsessed with consumerism.

Maybe for a change, we can focus on what Christmas is truly about: being kind to those around us and spreading thanksgiving. The question is, how can we draw focus away from getting gifts and place it on enjoying Christmas for what it is: a time of unity, love, care, and putting others’ needs before our own? Celebrate the holidays with less of an emphasis on gift-giving and more on spending precious time with loved ones.