As of late, the phrase, “Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore” has become normalized amongst all generations, leading to a loss of interest in fostering family unity and diminished understanding of what this time of sharing truly means.

While the loss of innocence is inevitable and that joyful feeling that comes with holidays –especially Christmas– begins to dim; today’s lack of interest and erosion of community connection is at its peak. We are at a point where not only do adults find the celebrations taxing rather than enjoyable but young adults, teenagers and children embrace the commercial aspects of Christmas, forgetting the true essence of the celebration. But what exactly is causing these drastic changes in society?

Social media and consumerism

“Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore.” This is probably because the celebration is being driven by trends linked to consumerism and social media. Now it is all about seeking acceptance through likes, increasing followers, etc.—all in the name of Christmas. 

This is seen in many places, whether it is countries who don’t celebrate religiously but do it because of trends, or people doing Christmas related trends such as a current one like “angel trees.” It is a trend where people buy gifts for children of families that cannot afford to buy their own. While these initiatives are theoretically good, these trends ultimately fail to achieve their objective, becoming items valued solely for their commercial value. And this happens in the gifting and receiving end. Where on one hand we see people who have pretended to do the angel tree trend, without truly purchasing any gifts for the children. On the other, parents express their dissatisfaction with the gifts they receive, as they want their children to value the gifts based on their commercial value, not their sentimental value. 

Not to mention that this leads to the loss of cultural identity and tradition. An example can be Hispanic culture, where it is tradition to wear one´s best clothes due to the importance of the occasion; this has now become a celebration in pajamas. We clearly see the adoption of foreign cultures due to the influence of first-world countries through social media in our countries. 

Generational shifts

During my childhood, Christmas was the most exciting and anticipated time of the year. But not because of the gifts, but because of sharing Christmas dinner with my family and playing with my cousins. This leads me to compare the experiences of different generations. 

Gen Z is well known for being nostalgic; we are the generation that brought back flared jeans, tamagochis and Y2K style. Meanwhile younger generations are growing up alongside technology, making it part of their lives. These children prefer cell phones more than socializing. For Christmas they like makeup or gift cards, while we wanted toys. But bear in mind that this is enabled by their parents, the older generations, who went from raising my generation with limited, developing technology to raising these generations through the use of unlimited internet via screens. These parents often tend to be negligent when it comes to raising their children, fostering these ideologies and ethics on the younger and future generations. These significant differences in mindsets and upbringings affect how we celebrate Christmas, where the lack of shared values between generations makes spending time together during holidays less enjoyable. 

But why doesn’t ¨Christmas feel like Christmas anymore?¨

We live in a changing world, one that moves and grows alongside technology. Generations with fixed mindsets must coexist with those with growth mindsets. And social media fosters consumerism and the need for social acceptance, influencing how we celebrate the holidays today.