Is it just me, or do the Easter tube socks you get every Christmas from your aunt come earlier and earlier every year? We’ve barely taken down our Halloween decorations, let alone had enough time to polish off our little niece’s and nephew’s trick-or-treat candies before we began seeing tons of commercial advertisements telling us how much we can save and what to buy in order to create the “ultimate” Christmas memory. It’s like corporate America decided to skip November and the Thanksgiving holiday and went straight through to Christmas.

Although both Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays that emphasize selflessness and giving, why does Christmas overshadow Thanksgiving? And has Christmas become over-commercialized?

The Christmas season is big business for major corporations and retail companies. Most retail stores’ entire annual profits are earned during the six-week Christmas shopping season. This big business rush comes from advertisements centralized around consumers saving money and getting more for their dollars.

As consumers, it’s in our best interest to not overspend on gifts during the Christmas season. Saving during the holidays is very important to the welfare of our credit and most corporations are also aware of the importance of this need. They know what social classes they receive most of their profits from, thus encouraging retailers to strongly promote advertisements targeting consumers with the need to save.

It’s no secret that retail corporations spend millions of dollars to create advertisements during the holiday season in hopes of gaining more in revenue than what was spent to create and run the ads. Unfortunately, the goal of turning a profit has taken away the true spirit of Christmas.

The holiday has become an over-commercialized materialistic spending trend. We are more concerned with gifts and are caught up in the hype of either saving money or spending too much on gifts we know we can’t afford. We have a greater interest in spending hundreds to outdo our neighbor’s yard decorations than we do celebrating the purpose of the holiday – the birth of Jesus Christ.

This year, before you’re sucked in by the commercial industry, keep in mind that Christmas is not about how much you spend or save on a product, but rather, its about giving and showing selflessness and appreciation. While you’re flipping through the sales ads from your Sunday newspaper, remember selling the savings dream to consumers is nothing new to corporate America. Their main objective is not to sell the product, but to sell the image of what your life could be like if you purchase it.

Talecia Bell can be reached at [email protected]