Christmas, Candy Canes and Capitalism: Has Christmas been commodified?
After checking our bank accounts following our Christmas shopping sprees, I’m sure some of us wonder – why is Christmas all about presents? Yes, Christmas is the religious holiday that is marked by ‘joy’ and ‘giving’, but do we really need to spend hundreds of dollars to do this? And why do shopping centres go crazy with Christmas paraphernalia? Some claim that the true spirit and meaning of Christmas has been overpowered by corporate profiteers through grinding marketing campaigns. Often described as ‘corporate Christmas’, has Christmas been commodified? Has it become a market-tested, prepackaged, wrapped box full of consumerism that peddles religious tradition as a mere product? Or is this inevitable in the new globalised era? To answer these questions and more, we spoke to marketing lecturer from Macquarie University Business School, Dr June Buchanan.
