In America, there is arguably no bigger holiday than Christmas. In a December 2017 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 90% of Americans reported celebrating Christmas, regardless of their religion. The days leading up to Christmas, and the holiday itself, are riddled with traditions. Many of these festivities have evolved from the holiday’s origins. This can be attributed to the commercialization of the holiday by businesses and entertainment.

The most famous instance of this commercialization is Santa Claus. Before the jolly, white-haired Santa recognized today, there was Saint Nicholas. History.com writes that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and sailors and that he was known for his generosity: the saint gave away all of his wealth and cared for the poor and sick. St. Nicholas was popular across all of Europe but was especially admired by the Dutch.

During the latter half of the 18th century, Dutch immigrants residing in New York celebrated St. Nicholas, nicknamed “Sinterklaas”, by gathering on the date of his death. The traditional celebration entails feasting and giving gifts and sweets to children. This celebration spread from the Dutch to the rest of the United States and by the mid-1800s, the Americanized version of Sinterklaas, Santa Claus, emerged. 

Santa Claus was quickly adopted by the commercial world, most famously by Coca-Cola. On the company’s FAQs, they stated that illustrator Haddon Sundblom popularized the depiction of Claus as a “warm, happy character with human features, including rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes, and laughter lines.” This illustration of Claus inspired the image that most Americans recognize today, though some of the first known illustrations of this version of Claus can be seen on Puck magazine’s 1901 and 1902 covers. 

Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer is another popular character who, similar to Santa Claus, has become a Christmas staple. However, “Santa’s most famous reindeer” was not derived from any folk tales, but was invented by writer Robert L. May as a marketing campaign from retail company Montgomery Ward. Rudolph’s various movie and music ventures have outlasted its now-defunct creator and to this day, Gene Autry’s original song continues to chart almost every December. 

With every Christmas tradition, comes Christmas-related media. Besides religion, Santa Claus, and Rudolph, there are multiple songs, movies, and books covering almost every aspect of Christmas. Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, the movie ELF, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, are three of the most popular Christmas-related entertainment. 

All of these traditions have spawned hundreds of thousands of products including ugly Christmas sweaters, Santa Claus hats, Santa Claus toilet decor, and reindeer stuffed animals. Non-Christmas-related products are marketed as trendy commodities and go on sale around the peak Christmas shopping season, defined as the weekend after Thanksgiving. 

The effects of this commercialization are widely debated. The economy often prospers during the Christmas season as Statista reports that Christmas is the “largest economic stimulus” in many countries. Meanwhile, materialism and a loss of sentimental value are cons of this commercialization, as reported by Johnathan Kim in Medium. 

Kim turned to a classic Christmas film, A Charlie Brown Christmas, to combat this materialistic movement. Kim wrote that the film “reaches out to children and adults who feel out of place at Christmas,” and that for him, it re-established the hope that things will get better, even in a society he felt dissociated from.

In America, there is arguably no bigger holiday than Christmas. In a December 2017 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 90% of Americans reported celebrating Christmas, regardless of their religion. The days leading up to Christmas, and the holiday itself, are riddled with traditions. Many of these festivities have evolved from the holiday’s origins. This can be attributed to the commercialization of the holiday by businesses and entertainment.

The most famous instance of this commercialization is Santa Claus. Before the jolly, white-haired Santa recognized today, there was Saint Nicholas. History.com writes that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and sailors and that he was known for his generosity: the saint gave away all of his wealth and cared for the poor and sick. St. Nicholas was popular across all of Europe but was especially admired by the Dutch.

During the latter half of the 18th century, Dutch immigrants residing in New York celebrated St. Nicholas, nicknamed “Sinterklaas”, by gathering on the date of his death. The traditional celebration entails feasting and giving gifts and sweets to children. This celebration spread from the Dutch to the rest of the United States and by the mid-1800s, the Americanized version of Sinterklaas, Santa Claus, emerged. 

Santa Claus was quickly adopted by the commercial world, most famously by Coca-Cola. On the company’s FAQs, they stated that illustrator Haddon Sundblom popularized the depiction of Claus as a “warm, happy character with human features, including rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes, and laughter lines.” This illustration of Claus inspired the image that most Americans recognize today, though some of the first known illustrations of this version of Claus can be seen on Puck magazine’s 1901 and 1902 covers. 

Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer is another popular character who, similar to Santa Claus, has become a Christmas staple. However, “Santa’s most famous reindeer” was not derived from any folk tales, but was invented by writer Robert L. May as a marketing campaign from retail company Montgomery Ward. Rudolph’s various movie and music ventures have outlasted its now-defunct creator and to this day, Gene Autry’s original song continues to chart almost every December. 

With every Christmas tradition, comes Christmas-related media. Besides religion, Santa Claus, and Rudolph, there are multiple songs, movies, and books covering almost every aspect of Christmas. Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, the movie ELF, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, are three of the most popular Christmas-related entertainment. 

All of these traditions have spawned hundreds of thousands of products including ugly Christmas sweaters, Santa Claus hats, Santa Claus toilet decor, and reindeer stuffed animals. Non-Christmas-related products are marketed as trendy commodities and go on sale around the peak Christmas shopping season, defined as the weekend after Thanksgiving. 

The effects of this commercialization are widely debated. The economy often prospers during the Christmas season as Statista reports that Christmas is the “largest economic stimulus” in many countries. Meanwhile, materialism and a loss of sentimental value are cons of this commercialization, as reported by Johnathan Kim in Medium. 

Kim turned to a classic Christmas film, A Charlie Brown Christmas, to combat this materialistic movement. Kim wrote that the film “reaches out to children and adults who feel out of place at Christmas,” and that for him, it re-established the hope that things will get better, even in a society he felt dissociated from.