🎅 Who made Santa?
The sceptics were right: Santa is not real. He was created by a famous brand.
Christmas is a vibe. Even if you haven't gone to church or sung Christmas carols, you must have been a part of the festivities in some way or another. You would have probably had a Christmas cake, decorated a tree or participated in a secret Santa gift exchange.Â
Heck, chances are you're reading this newsletter late because you had Christmas plans!
Ever wondered how Christmas became so popular?Â
All thanks to good old capitalism!
The Christmas Story
Now before we put the blame squarely on capitalism, you should know that capitalism only got a hold of the festival due to religion, politics and even literature. You see, before Christmas became a homely holiday full of gifts, church visits, and home-cooked meals, it was marked by loud public feasts.Â
But the religious authorities and politicians did not like those rowdy feasts. To them, it felt like an insult to their religion. So, this public celebration of Christmas was banned and the festival became a more homely celebration.
To aid this shift, a group of elite men in the US created a series of Christmas traditions. And one of these traditions included giving gifts to children.Â
Here's where the commercialisation of Christmas began. Brands quickly began marketing their products as ideal gifts for children.Â
And one of these marketing gimmicks became so popular that it exists to date: Santa Claus.
To be fair, the idea of Santa existed long before Christmas was rebranded. But he was then portrayed as a strict looking elf and not the jolly old man that we now know him to be.Â
So, who created this happy old Santa?Â
Coca-Cola!
This Santa delivered toys and played with them often while chugging a Coke, further entrenching the idea of gift-giving into the minds of people.Â
But Coca-Cola wasn't the only brand that started a Christmas trend. Cadbury popularized advent calendars.Â
Cut to the present day, Christmas is an occasion for bumper sales for all brands. The world spends almost $475 billion on gifts. And India is set to become one of the largest contributors to this gifting market by 2024.Â
But ReadOn why are you talking about this?
First, we're suckers for marketing gimmicks. And second, we were wondering if the commercialisation of festivals is bad?
Doesn't it generate a lot more employment? Many corporations hire extra seasonal workers during festivals. Their business also booms, further boosting the economy. And it's not just the big corporations that benefit from this. Think about all the small shops you buy Christmas cakes and fairy lights from. Even during Diwali and Holi, most of us purchase diyas and colours from small vendors.
So, isn't commercialisation good for the economy?Â
Let us know what you think about this.Â
Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!
Share this with your friends via WhatsApp or Twitter and help them declutter news from noise! See you tomorrow :)
You can also listen to our stories because the Revolution ReadOn podcast is live!! Here: you can catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcast or Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Gaana and Jio Saavn.
If you are coming here for the very first time: Don’t forget to join us on WhatsApp to get daily updates! 👇