Abstract
Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s hard to avoid it. Not only is it a day of celebration for Christian religions, but it has become commercialized and commodified for the sake of consumption and capitalism. Christmas also has a strong culture associated with it, full of rituals and traditions–from decorating the tree to gift-giving to singing in groups in front of people’s houses. Join us this week as we discuss these rituals, and get some tips from our amazing sociology gift guide!
Keywords
Christmas, rituals, traditions, religion, holidays, gift giving, culture, sociology, Emerson, Mauss, norms, Durkheim, Xmas
Sources
- The Penguin Definition of Sociology
- Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
- Japanese bowing guide
- Trump mocked Obama for bowing to a Saudi king. And then he … (Washington Post 2017)
- Contributions To Churches Are Studied (New York Times 1994)
- Christmas Traditions and Customs
- History of Christmas Trees
- Mariah Carey – All I want for Christmas is You
- Chipmunk Christmas playlist
- Marcel Mauss’s (1925) seminal essay on gift giving “The Gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies”
“That when an object is given as a gift, it becomes inextricably tied to the giver. To make a gift of something is to make a present of some part of oneself.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson’s (1844) essay “Gifts”
- A Sociologist Studied Christmas Gifts, and Here’s What He Learned (The New Republic 2013)
- Gift wrapping in Japan
- Sociology gifts
- The Social Breakdown website
- Various sociology t-shirts
- “I’m a Sociologist not a Social Worker” t-shirt
- Sociology books are linked throughout our show notes of various episodes
- Donate to a good organization. Check out some of these websites to make sure your charity is legitimate and effective! Charity Navigator, GiveWell, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar, Charity Watch
- Sorry Megyn Kelly, Santa Claus Isn’t White (Huffington Post 2017)
- What Fox News Doesn’t Understand About Santa Claus (Slate 2017)
- While Coca Cola did not create the image of the elderly Santa in his red suit and black belt and jolly smile, the company played a large role in shaping the global perception of Santa through commercialization and ad campaigns.