If you have children, then I advise you not to read this in front of them👀
And don't get me wrong. I love Christmas, I love Santa Claus, but it's been a while since I've sent him a letter thinking he'd be the one filling up my stocking on Christmas Eve. That was in my salad days, when I was green in judgement...
Today, I'm sharing with all of you my thesis "Santa Claus, Christmas, and Department Stores: The strategic brand alliance behind holiday cheer", which was overseen by Dr. Ana Cecilia Rico, of San Diego Global Knowledge University.
For starters, Christmas has not always been about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. It used to be genuinely religious. Like, y'all know 25 December* 1 AD right? Away in a Manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head? Well... that's how Christmas started🤷🏻♂️
*For all of you fan girl Catholics out there, there is no Biblical evidence that Jesus was actually born on December 25th. That was something Sextus Julius Africanus (the Roman historian) came up with in 221 AD.
Fast forward to the 19th century in post-Industrial Revolution America: the yanks needed some traditions. As their imperial ancestors (the British), they decided to import some customs from the mother country and some other European kingdoms.
Thanks to Clement Clark Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (better know to all as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), Santa Claus came to be: he is the love child of the Dutch folklore character "Sinterklaas", St. Nicholas of Myra, and Britain's Father Christmas.
Side note: Santa Claus was born in 1822. Imagine a 201 year old man going down a chimney? "Santa Baby" is kind of creepy to me now, considering Santa's age😳
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In the poem, Moore states that St. Nicholas is the person who brings gifts to the children of the world on Christmas Eve. The good ones that is, because the bad ones get coal😂
Santa Claus first became associated with the world of retail in 1841, when a Philadelphia department store put up a model of Clement Clark Moore's "St Nicholas" on their premises, in order to attract children. Then in 1862, Macy's became the first department store to have the first living, breathing Santa Claus. However, it was in 1931 that Santa Claus came to be the jolly fat man in the red suit, thanks to the Coca Cola Company.
Santa Claus isn't a real person. Santa Claus is a folk legend. The concept of him is real, but there is no such thing as the jolly fat man in a red suit that can travel the entire world in one night. So how does he do it? Spoiler for children: it's the parents. Your parents are Santa, kid. If you didn't want to break the illusion, why did you even read this post?😂
And because parents have no time to build toys for their children (unless they're expert toy-makers), they have to purchase them. From where? Well... department stores, or any kind of store for that matter. And gift-giving is not limited to children, we also give adults presents, and we must buy those as well.
Santa has been, since his inception, the brand ambassador for Christmas and a strategic partner for department stores. In my thesis, you are able to find stats on Macy's sales over the holiday and how holiday sales account for 34% of net sales for financial year 2022. Moreover, in comparison with the third quarter of 2022, sales during the last quarter of the year increased around 160%, all thanks to the man with the bag!
This leads us to conclude that Santa Claus is much more than an a cultural icon, but rather a brand. Since his inception, he has been used as a way to promote brands and business, impacting on the global economy in a positive way. However, he has also perpetuated the "consumerism" of Christmas, making us forget the true meaning of the holiday season: being together, expressing love and giving joy to others (and also, the birth of Jesus, if you're super Catholic).
You can read my entire essay below:
While I have exposed the "dark side" of the Christmas season in this post, this has not lessened my love of Christmas and my festiveness and joy over the holiday season. I do keep hanging my stocking with Christmas cheer awaiting Santa Claus, and I will keep on doing so, to keep the spirit of the holidays alive🎅🏻
As the late Queen Elizabeth II used to end her Christmas broadcast every year: I wish you all a very Happy Christmas🎄
She probably didn't look that happy in this photo, but I wouldn't blame her, its from the year she became a widow, and unbeknownst to her, she would die 9 months later.
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