Dream Discussions

Christmas in media - the true meaning of Christmas?

December is all about the winter break, holidays, and Christmas. We had a discussion about Christmas in media. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, it is fun to discuss about Christmas movies and books, and how they reflect on Christmas. Let's hear from some of our members!

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Question posted on Dec 3, 2022:

It's Christmas and we are seeing an influx of Christmas movies and songs and books. It's clear that Christmas is increasingly commercialized. Some people think commercializing Christmas and using Christmas as a marketing tool for movies and books is diminishing the true meaning of Christmas. Do you agree?

*note, all answers are slightly modified for grammar and structure*

Winning answer by MiniMoxx:

I mainly disagree. Christmas is, from where I see it, always about family, whether religious or not (I will go more into this at the end). The TV ads and all sorts of adverts always market their Christmas adverts around family. Even if they're selling toys, most of the adverts I see have a family theme in them (some adverts here in Britain even make use of the different kinds of families these days). However, that's not to say it doesn't diminish it; all businesses have a goal: make money. To them, Christmas might be about spending money/gifting/etc., but they all seem to market towards a family. So while I can see the deep rooted commercialisation, I'd say the true meaning of Christmas (family) is still there. I don't think it'll ever really go away either. 

I also think the meaning of Christmas is individual; religious people view it as celebrating the birth of Jesus. Non-religious people may think it's about family. But at it's core, it is a time to spend with others however you celebrate it. It's coming together to celebrate something: and you mainly do that as a family; whether biological or found-family, So catering marketing at families hits everyone. I was recently at my son's nativity (his first one and it was adorable) but it was at the local church, and the vicar mentioned the meaning of Christmas as both a celebration of Jesus' birth, and also about family (whether religious or not) and I think that its what people make it.

1st runner-up (tied) by Micahferb:

I sort of agree with the fact that Christmas has become a popular tool for people to just go haywire with their Christmas content. The true meaning of Christmas is lost, because books and movies have perpetuated the idea that you can never be alone during the holidays and that, you need to exchange gifts, follow a certain Christmas "protocol" or something in order to experience the season to the fullest.

Which is certainly not the case! You can spend it in however way that is meaningful to you and you basically curate your own experiences. The key idea is to spread joy and happiness.

And at the same time, I kind of like this contemporary content. As someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, nor am I from North America or Europe, where Christmas is widely known as an active thing people look forward to, it is pretty nice watching all that content because Christmas movies are so comforting. They offer this kind of cheesy plot, this heartwarming friendship and I'm just all for it. Here, you don't get many comfort movies that don't come with a "moral of the story" string attached. I can read contemporary books with an open head - no extra thinking needed.

Is it inherently built on a throne of lies? Possibly, yes.

But is it so bad it is good? Yes.

1st runner-up (tied) by UnicornCosmic:

I sort of half agree, but at the same time I half disagree. Yes, Christmas movies have now become about music, films, and presents rather than coming together as a family/community and sharing each others company. But people always have and always will be together at Christmas (except for those who can't, for whatever reason). When you watch a Christmas film, you normally watch it with family, or when you listen to Christmas music you normally do it together with someone. 

However, Christmas has been very much commercialised. I mean Coca Cola literally changed the way Santa looked, he used to be green, but Coca Cola made him red. However, before the TV back in Victorian times they still used to give each other gifts at Christmas (although back then it used to be more handmade gifts). Even in the foundling hospitals and orphanages they used to celebrate Christmas. Christmas has just always been a celebration. But in terms of adverts, yes, it is just a money grabbing thing nowadays. I mean look at John Lewis. (I don't know if John Lewis operates worldwide) They literally wait all year to bring out an advert, and their advert is so powerful that it attracts everyone's attention. For shops and company it is a money grabbing scheme. But for us mere people, it's the way it's always been!

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And that's all! Thank you to everyone who participated in this round's discussion questions, and congratulations to the winners! Feel free to leave any additional thoughts in the comments.

See you next round, debaters!