Children frantically anticipate the presents that are sure to arrive the coming morning. They marvel at the thought of Santa Claus as if it were to be their savior and the beaming tree as it if were their only source of light.

Our capitalist system creates this scene of commercialized godliness. We are shown nothing but outrageous gifts, made-up characters, and beaming lights.

This commercialization can be dated as far back as 1839 when Christmas postcards were introduced in Great Britain, which increased the use of the postal system. It seems that from the very beginning the celebration of Christmas was intended to manipulate the people into behaving the way the church, the government, and Santa Claus wanted us to.

Christmas is a religious holiday, a holiday to celebrate the love, compassion, and forgiveness taught by Jesus Christ. It’s a holiday to embrace the needy as a gift of gratitude for God giving his only son for our eternal life. Though I am not religious in any way, I do believe that the meaning of Christmas today has been lost in the American market.

Today Christmas has more of an economic role than a spiritual role. Right after the celebration of Thanksgiving we are bombarded with advertisements for Christmas shopping (Black Friday sales), and the day after Christmas is the day that the lines at the return registers exceed their regular length because of the various unwanted gifts.

We are conditioned to create revenue by extracting the needed amount form our pocket books and distributing it to the supposed needed essentials during the holiday season. We expect milk and cookies, a huge Christmas tree, and multiple valuable gifts. The more expensive the gift, the greater the love. That’s how it works.

Children are led to believe that Santa Claus brings them gifts and that, yes it is a time of giving, but it is also a time of receiving. This causes children whose parents cannot buy the desired toy to feel less worthy than others. This is a festive time that should be celebrating the principle of love and compassion, not the price of the latest gadget.

Santa Claus is merely a made up figure geared toward appealing to younger audiences toward the transformation of Christmas. Santa has become somewhat of a fear tactic, “if you are not good this year all you will get from Santa is a lump of coal!” Where is the love and compassion in that?

Our system is based on business and it is sad that a holiday dedicated to a once holy meaning has been transformed into a profitable machine. Today the word “Christmas” is abbreviated to X-Mas, eliminating the word Christ, and now Santa Claus is responsible for distributing the gifts, not the original three kings.

We have sold the only day of organic joy to the capitalist system for a profitable return and have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.