Is Christmas Coming Too Early?

by Sophie Mitchell

It’s the first of November. Your teeth are rotting from all the sweets you’ve eaten, and you still have some of last night’s face paint smeared across your forehead. You go Tesco for your weekly shop and low and behold, mince pies line the shelves, advent calendars are everywhere, and Christmas has begun. You may call me Scrooge, but to me, it’s too early.

The John Lewis Christmas advert, the definitive signal of the start of Christmas, came out on the 13th of November. This was 42 days before Christmas day. 6 weeks. Christmas is becoming more about profit and commercialism rather than being with family and looking after those around you. Year upon year, Christmas presents get more expensive, more food is bought, and more people are forgotten. Roughly 24,000 people were on the streets on Christmas day last year, relying on the kindness of strangers for their Christmas day. To those people, the gift of a sleeping bag or blanket is worth more than anything else. While you may be at home playing with the latest Xbox or indulging in mince pies, these people have nothing, a feeling aggravated by the wasting nature of the British public.

Christmas as we know it is a fairly new concept. Before the 1800s, it was reserved for the rich who had a lavish dinner and donated money to the pour. In the Christmas period of 2016-2017 the total UK spend added up to £77.5 billion. Each household spent on average £810 over the season, with £473 on gifts.

Adoration of the Magi, by Giotto (c. 1305)

The custom of giving gifts at Christmas originated from the Wise Men who brought gifts to Jesus upon his birth. Members of my own family are guilty of this Christmas waste. Last year, a slime-producing plastic unicorn was purchased, opened on Christmas Day and chucked away 7 days later. The toys are just fads, the more the better. Most of these gifts never get used. Society is changing to buying more and chucking out more. This year, many retailers have chosen not to participate in Black Friday sales in a bid to reduce fast fashion and plastic waste. 

The Make Friday Green Again collective says discount deals encourage people to purchase things they don’t need. They say this ‘overproduction’ contributes to climate change. Instead, it wants shoppers to look into their wardrobes and see what they can repair, sell or recycle. The less you buy, the smaller your environmental footprint. This year, instead of overbuying lavish gifts for those around you, buy group gifts, scour charity shops and donate to those less fortunate. 

The part people often forget about the Wise Men is that they brought one gift, and that gift had meaning. So should we be taking a leaf out of the Wise Men’s book: buy fewer presents, but make them meaningful?

Last year’s John Lewis advert featured Elton John and his journey from boyhood to global sensation. It cost £8 million pounds to create. Even Lord Sugar waded into the argument, claiming the campaign had been a waste of money and would have “no impact on sales”. Santa would not be the person we know today without the Coca-Cola adverts. They become an almost microscopic version of Christmas, giving the appearance of being all warm, fuzzy and festive, whereas, in reality, they are redundant.

Now the food! So much food! Each Christmas, around 10 million turkeys are slaughtered and eaten. Most people don’t even like turkey but feel compelled to eat it under Christmas tradition. Most farms use intensive farming methods in order to produce enough birds for the festive season, resulting in cramped conditions, no natural light and broken legs. They are killed aged between 5-6 months. They can live for ten years in the wild. Choosing other meats to eat on Christmas day, such as beef or chicken from free-range and organic sources. Or, if you desire, go meat-free on Christmas – there are so many alternatives on the market if that’s your thing. I implore you, don’t eat turkey for the sake of Christmas.

I’m not saying don’t enjoy Christmas. I am merely asking you to consider the wider repercussions of your festive traditions. Think about those around you, people less fortunate than you. Think, do you really need that new games console? Make informed, smart decisions when gifting to ensure they are meaningful. Christmas smart, not Christmas big.