The most popular holiday in the United States is Christmas, according to data collected by Statisa, but I believe Christmas has lost a majority of its importance as the years go on. Christmas is the holiday of consumerism that curates a sense of stress and dread that comes with not being wealthy.
Christmas values of the past seem to be falling by the wayside. Spending time with your family and your community, being grateful for what you already have and cherishing each other seem to be secondary to what people imagine when they think of Christmas.
Christmas and gift giving are nearly synonymous, especially in American culture. Personal finance company NerdWallet conducted a survey and estimated that over 216 million Americans were planning on buying gifts for someone. In addition to the large number of people, the average American shopper plans to spend nearly $800 on gifts, totaling over $150 billion.
Not only are people spending the money they do not have, but it also seems as if greed is needed to participate in Christmas’ consumerist nature. Along with spending, nearly “31% of 2021 holiday shoppers who used a credit card to pay for gifts still have not paid off their balances,” according to NerdWallet.
You should not be buying Christmas gifts. A vast majority of Americans surveyed said that they have severe stress regarding not just money, but also time when it comes to the holiday season. Over 50% of people believe that they have to give or receive a gift for the holiday, according to Ph.D. researcher Le Cunff.
Thanksgiving is Christmas without the obligation of giving gifts, so I love Thanksgiving far more than Christmas.
Thanksgiving cornerstones, to me, are family, love and, of course, food. As a college student, my favorite time of year is Thanksgiving break, nearly a week off from classes and time specifically dedicated to spending time with my extended family.
Since food is the centerpiece of the holiday, the Thanksgiving meal is better or at least seems to have more care and love that is induced into the food compared to Christmas, where the food is secondary. The love does not only go toward the food, but to each other as well.
Being thankful for those around you is a staple of the holiday. A chance to gather around with your family and peers to dedicate time to give people the praise and adulation they deserve is a very rare occurrence in people’s daily lives.
Nkechukwu Akpati can be reached at akpa2917@stthomas.edu.