Do shops portray Christian Christmas festivity or perpetuate a Essay

Do shops portray Christian Christmas festivity or perpetuate a commercial tradition - Essay Example The messages are everywhere, creating a world that is transformed for a few months of every year. However, in looking around at the many ways in which the world does transform during this time of year, one can see that a fantasy world is created within the many delightful ways in which the decor in retail, residential, and businesses is changed to reflect imagery of everything from Father Christmas to snow fairies. The use of color becomes more extravagant, the explosion of glittering ornamentation becomes rich and vibrant with color combinations being bold and celebratory. Lights are twinkling everywhere one looks and the world becomes transformed into a winter fantasy in which no dream of interior or exterior decorating needs to be edited or toned down in order to be appropriate. One of the most wonderful aspects of this season is the many window displays that are seen in shops and department stores, some advertising their wares, where others are defined by an artistic sensibility that defies extravagance. Some types of window display advertising is intended to highlight consumer goods, while others are intended to draw people in and communicate a different sort of aesthetic through invention and creativity. The window displays that are available for view during the Christmas season are some of the most wonderful examples of interior landscaping that can be seen throughout the year Christmas and Culture To understand the way in which Christmas affects people, it is imperative to look at the event from an anthropological perspective. Most academic fields have opinions on the rituals that constitute the Christmas season. The field of psychology allows for researchers to make observations on behaviour in order to explain crucial elements of the relationships that people share with one another. The seasonal rituals create a language that can be opened up and interpreted for the ways in which we communicate emotions during that time of year. The spending habits du ring this time of year, however, is of most interest to anthropologists as they study the ways in which people paradoxically complain about the commercialism of Christmas while participating in the extravagances of the season. According to Highfield, in the United States Christmas purchases equal approximately one sixth of all retail business, while in the U.K. gift purchases equal approximately eight percent of the economy is devoted to producing items for Christmas gift giving. It has been determined that approximately four percent of the income in the U.K. is spent on Christmas (30). People spend their money during this time of year in order to reap the rewards of the hopes they have for their relationships with others. Whether those hopes are realized or not, those hopes are fueled and sustained through the advertising that suggests that certain responses will occur when spending habits are turned towards their products. This type of advertising promotes the agenda of retail env ironments so that the perpetuation of Christmas spending allows for economic benefit to the economy. The stimulus that is provided by Christmas spending is a good thing, an advantage that should not be held in a paradox of