Marketing Christmas. Where it all began.

A Christmas Carol: The revival of the Christmas "spirit"

Christmas began as a religious and social holiday and then it morphed into a commercial phenomenon worldwide.

In the Philippines, Christmas begins as early as September. This has been noted since the mid-1980s. It is  curious as to its coincidence with the establishment of the first shopping malls such as SM North EDSA and SM Centerpoint.  Also, it was observed that starting September 1, radio stations commenced playing Christmas carols every hour on the hour. It will be followed by radio commercials of ham, cheese, milk and spaghetti.

But where did it really start?

By mid-4th century AD, December 25, has been established as the date of Christmas but there was no festival as we know it now. In fact, early Christian festivals were based on Jewish festivals such as the Passover. But with the rising power of Christianity by the time of Emperor Constantine, efforts have been made by the Christian Church to separate itself from Judaism, citing the existence of the New Testament.

December 25 was also associated with the Winter Solstice, that is when the night is longest and the days coming after will start to grow longer. This was associated with hope after the winter. In Rome, it coincides with the festival of Sol Invictus, the Sun God or Apollo. As with any polytheistic religion, Rome also celebrates the pagan feast of Saturnalia and it also coincides with the early rival of Christianity, the religion of Mithraism. 

Early Christian theologians such as St. Irenaeus and St. Tertullian did not include Christmas in their list of Christian festivals and in 245 AD, Origen of Alexandria stated that only sinners and Pharaohs celebrated their birthdays. 

The first recorded celebration of Christmas was in 336 AD in Rome but this celebration was overshadowed by other Christian feast days such as the Epiphany celebrated on January 6. 

The popularity of Christmas eventually gained when Charlemagne was crowned King in 800 AD and King William I  was crowned king of England in the year 1066 AD. In the year 1377, King Richard II celebrated Christmas by serving 28 oxen and 300 sheep to the celebrators. Other tradition also became popular but also contributed to the decline of Christmas as a feast. Caroling was one of them. During that time carolers sang and danced but since it was an offshoot of Saturnalia, the carolers were drunk and there were times that they danced in the nude.

By the time of the Protestant Reformation, gift giving was introduced and instead of January 6, it was done on Christmas eve. During the English Civil War, the Puritan government banned Christmas. What followed was rioting that engulfed Canterbury for days.  Even in North America, the celebration of Christmas was banned for a time. It was only during the Restoration of King Charles II that Christmas was celebrated again. 

But it must be noted that Christmas was dictated by the Church and Government. What happened between then and now.

In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. Dickens wrote that Christmas was about family, social and economic justice, feasting, goodwill and compassion. This revived the “spirit” of Christmas. It also must be noted at that time, the British Empire was ruling most of the known world. Thus, the Christmas culture spanned the globe. Also in 1843 Sir Henry Cole crafted the first commercial Christmas Card.

By the year 1900, other contemporary Christmas traditions were being established such as the Christmas Tree, Christmas themed advertisements in magazines and newspapers and even Christmas greeting by companies that got put up in billboards by the 1920s and 30s. 

But Christmas really broke out after WWII. During the boom years, Americans used to just having candies, apples or oranges in their stockings got toys and other gifts. The industrial complex began churning out products especially for the Christmas holidays and these also involved advertising in print, radio and television.

And we go back to now. That is how Christmas was marketed, first by the churches, then governments and now by economic and industrial enterprises.

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year from Advertising and Marketing Philippines!