If we are guided by the United States, the “Christmas fever” begins on October 18, when the Hallmark television network launches its countdown or “Countdown To Christmas”. With a celebration that reaches unusual levels every year, the channel has produced up to 32 new Christmas films in 2024, mostly romantic comedies, with which it has also consolidated its dominance over audiences for weeks. This display is a reflection of a growing devotion to everything related to Christmas, in which many people are beginning to immerse themselves through the decoration of their homes and the use of ugly sweaters (sweaters with Christmas motifs) very shortly after what Hallmark dictates, from November 1, with the end of Halloween and “It’s time!” by Mariah Carey on social networks, which marks the beginning of the Christmas period. Although this immersive phenomenon is more characteristic of the American context, its influence has begun to permeate Europe, adapting to the traditions of our culture.
The Spanish version of this “Christmas madness” manifests itself especially in the streets. The lighting of lights in Vigo, which brought together 7,000 people last November, and was widely shared on social networks, is an example of how cities seek to extend the festivities and attract new visitors. Christmas markets, light shows and themed events have gained prominence in recent years, transforming the way these dates are celebrated. Although the traditional Christmas in Spain had its beginning marked on the calendar with Christmas Eve and ended with the arrival of the Three Wise Men, these new dynamics show how a longer and more experiential celebration is being adopted.
Social networks, culture and Christmas aesthetics
Social networks are key in this transformation, turning Christmas into an increasingly aesthetic phenomenon. Hashtags such as #christmasvibes or #xmasmood have flooded Instagram and TikTok since the beginning of November, promoting idealized images of the holidays. Actions such as decorating the tree, drinking ginger tea in a pretty mug or putting on a Christmas sweater become shared aspirations that millions of people replicate, which ends up shaping the expectations and desires of many people. In fact, you count like @christmas.dreaming They generate thematic content months before the dates, feeding an anticipatory desire to experience Christmas.
When asking Lua, a network user who declares herself an unconditional fan of Christmas and who publishes the different Christmas activities she attends every year, she recognizes that when this type of content begins to appear on her feed —mostly imported from the US— is when he considers it “socially acceptable” to start Christmas rituals. In addition to decorating your apartment since the end of November, your cultural consumption is also transformed with the arrival of these dates. For example, every year he sees again Love Actually or any of the numerous Christmas-themed romantic comedies offered by streaming platforms. streaming.
In the case of Bea and Gabriela, who also live these dates with great fervor, an essential part of their Christmas is revisiting the saga of harry potter —which has established itself in the cultural imagination of many people of its generation (those born in the 80s-90s) as a Christmas classic—, whether one of the films independently or in the form of a marathon if time allows .
At the same time, this seasonal consumption also extends to the literary sphere, and in the reader microcosms of booktok and bookstagram It has become a common practice to choose readings related to the time of year, whether the Christmas and Three Kings Stories by Emilia Pardo Bazán or titles like Christmas, sweet Christmas by Joanne Fluke, belonging to the genre cozy mystery, among many others.
Traditions, emotions and consumption
Christmas is not exempt from “fashion” or the consumerist dynamics of today’s society. He marketing Christmas starts earlier and earlier, causing supermarkets to stock the Polvorones and Nougat from the month of November. Or that commercial traditions like Black Fridaywhich were initially celebrated on a single day (the last Friday in November), now take up several weeks in which you are encouraged to spend Christmas, either to buy gifts or new decorations.
According to this year’s Christmas survey by the Organization of Consumers and Users, the estimated average spending for 2024 is 683 euros per person, including gifts, lunches and dinners, lottery, trips and parties. But Christmas capitalism not only affects our pocketbooks, but also our ability to occupy space and move around cities on these dates.
Light tourism and Christmas markets are another example of the influence of the media coverage of these holidays. In Spain, this takes place in both small towns, such as Vigo, which has actively sought to attract thousands of visitors for its ostentatious Christmas decorations. And others, like Madrid, which usually already have a multitude of tourists, but at Christmas they become epicenters of consumerism. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda for 2022, that year there were 100,000 entries to the center of Madrid during every Saturday in December prior to the holidays, something that also seems to be being replicated this year in the capital, in which has been closing the Sol metro station for several weekends due to the large crowds of people coming to do their shopping and see the Christmas lights.
However, despite the weight of marketing and the “turbocapitalism” associated with Christmas, these dates remain deeply emotional. For some people, like Bea, Christmas is an opportunity to reunite with their “chosen family,” moving away from traditional family impositions. And, despite feeling excited about this festival since he was young, it was at the moment in which he was able to actively decide who he wanted to spend these holidays with that he began to truly enjoy them.
Other people, like Laura, have reinterpreted these holidays by integrating different traditions, such as the celebration of the winter solstice or Yule. In his case, living in Germany, where the winters are especially dark, has given a new meaning to the pagan festival, in which he prays for the arrival of the sun. In addition, Laura also feels it more and more as an opportunity to escape from the stimuli that encourage us to consume and develop her creativity, whether by making her own decoration handmade (handmade) with natural elements or creating your own gifts, instead of buying them, as you consider them to have greater sentimental value.
Therefore, it is undeniable that, like many other aspects of the contemporary world in which we have had to live, Christmas is also being influenced by the effect of globalization, capitalism and social networks. However, and on a more positive note, this is also not immune to the progressive reinterpretation of cultural symbols, among them, the loss of importance of the nuclear family as an institution. Something that, although it opens up new challenges to face, also makes it possible to break the most conservative traditions and create alternative ways of celebrating.
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