Evolution Of Christmas

Winston Churchill once said, “Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” As the big day draws near, it is important to reflect on the roots of the global holiday as well as the direction in which it is heading. Christmas is a tradition rooted deep in the history of western society. It has undergone many changes since it’s earliest celebrations. Even today, the holiday is constantly changing. Each year brings new innovations to Christmas. In the dawn of the holiday, it was minor and focused on the birth of Jesus, the light of the world. In the 19th century, Christmas was a time of family and goodwill to mankind. Today, though there still remains aspects of religion and selflessness, more than ever it has become a holiday consumed by commercialism. It is a development that is not likely to go way any time soon.
This has been a trend over the past few decades. People who are not practicing christians or simply nonreligious partake in the holiday every year. Major network channels like ABC broadcast christmas programming constantly. In fact, ABC Family’s “25 Days of Christmas” involves Christmas movies every day until christmas, beginning December 1st. This year, a horror film called Krampus hit theaters as well. The movie depicted the “shadow of Saint Nicholas,” forgetting all traces of the religious holiday, focusing solely on old myth and folklore. Christmas celebrations today are more common than celebrations for secular holidays. When was the last time a secular holiday like the Fourth of July garnered a month of constant promotion and