As 2016 comes to an end should we ask ourselves, what has the meaning of Christmas become? Is it the presents under the tree or the birth of Christ that newly defines a holiday celebrated by millions?

Christmas (Christ’s mass) is a time of celebration and exploitation shared by not only millions of Christians but people of other faiths and those with none at all. The first issue we run into with Christmas from a religious standpoint is that the early Christians condemned the celebration of Christmas. They claimed to celebrate the birth of Jesus to be a sin. It wasn’t until the 3rd and 4th century that Christmas was celebrated. But by this time no one knew the exact date Jesus was born. This is where we run into our second issue; the date of the birth of Christ was hugely debated. The eastern Christians believed that Jesus was born toward the end of January. While the western Christians believed that the birth of Christ was on the 6th of January. Encyclopædia Britannica states: “One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianization of the dies solis invicti nati (‘day of the birth of the unconquered sun’), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer.”

Today, in our day and age, it isn’t difficult to see what drives the celebration of Christmas. Modern Christmas is based around fads, decorations, festive goods, and all the paraphernalia are a commercial scar to make the average person spend their money on over priced useless goods.

To begin with this commercialized Christmas our attention should be drawn to the giving of cards. They originated so good fortune and blessings could be expressed. In 1992, over 1560 million cards were sent during the Christmas season. The commercial value of the card industry was worth 250 million.

Secondly, the man who wears a fur coat, has a bushy white beard, and travels through the sky to deliver presents was made popular by an advertising agency in the 1930’s. This popular figure of Christmas was once seen wearing a suit that was green, but due to the change of color in the Coca Cola industry so did Santa’s coat, turning to a red color scheme.

Rudolph the red nose reindeer was first seen in a writing by Robert May, the owner of a store. The name Rudolph originated from one of his daughters. The story was created to promote and entice people into his store.

Finally, why do people feel the need to give gifts during the Christmas season? Throughout the world, many cultures believe that giving gifts and eating excessive amounts of food marks a special occasion. But have we gone too far? Not only is there a pressure to spend excessive amounts of money, but the person receiving a gift must attempt to appreciate whatever they have been gifted. The advertising surrounding Christmas kindles an unrealistic fire where expectations cannot be met.

So as we come to a new year with new expectations for the future should we change the way we think about this holiday surrounded by commercialism and the value of materialistic objects? Should it still remain to be called Christmas even though there are millions of people that celebrate without the intention to praise Jesus? And should we change the way we come together to celebrate, with presents as the forefront?