Holidays and advertising

[Kacey]

Has anyone besides myself noticed that holidays today have lost all of their meaning in much of the media? That holidays - no matter what their nature - are an excuse for another "special" sale? The worst ad I heard of this type was a couple of years ago, when Dillard's had a radio ad in which a child tries to tell his mother what he learned in school about the meaning of President's Day, and she corrects him, telling him that the purpose of the holiday is to go to the sale at Dillard's - but the current ads for 4th of July sales are nearly that bad.

What does this say about us as a society? Our history is being subsumed by commercialism - at least, that's the way I see it. Does anyone else see this is a problem?

 

[bydand]

Right behind you Kacey! I have thought the crass commercialism of the Holidays have been out of control for years now. Another thing that get me is how early the stores are rolling out things for the Holidays. Used to be Christmas stuff didn't hit the shelves until after Thanksgiving, but now it is out long before Halloween is here. Valentines day items are out before Christmas is past, etc.... The only reason I bother with Holidays are because of The Ruffians. They are young enough yet that the different seasons and Holidays still mean something other that having to run out and buy, buy, buy.

 

[Marginal]

It's hard to keep meaning in holidays simply because we have so many. Couple that with the activities are generally the same for each one. (Time to eat a bigger than average meal, and buy a new scarf etc.) The Super Bowl ends up having more cultural signifigance than Flag Day.

 

[crushing]

I used to think that, but then I realized that it's about what the holidays mean to me that matters, not what the holidays mean to the local car dealership, furniture retailer, or department store, or even friends and family. There are much bigger things to get the blood boiling than comparing my view of a holiday with that of someones elses.

Besides, if a '4th of July special' does enough to keep a store in the black which allows that store to keep one more employee which allows that employee to stay in college, or help put their kid thru college, then s/he may be celebrating independence days for more than one reason.

 

[OUMoose]

What does this say about us as a society? Our history is being subsumed by commercialism - at least, that's the way I see it. Does anyone else see this is a problem?

Considering a good percentage of the "holidays" were made up just to sell more stuff, I'd say that means we just like to throw money away. Do we really need one day of the year to go out of our way to make our secretaries feel special, then turn right around and make the manager feel special as well? Father's Day? Mothers Day? Grandparents Day (why don't they get their OWN days)? Sweetest Day?

I used to have a calendar that showed an actual legal holiday on EVERY day of the year, so you always had a reason to celebrate.

:idunno:

 

[Drac]

Considering a good percentage of the "holidays" were made up just to sell more stuff, I'd say that means we just like to throw money away. Do we really need one day of the year to go out of our way to make our secretaries feel special, then turn right around and make the manager feel special as well? Father's Day? Mothers Day? Grandparents Day (why don't they get their OWN days)? Sweetest Day? :idunno:

Do you actually have a Sweetest Day there?? My step-daughter in Fla says they don not and never heard of such a holiday..I still believe it was a holiday created by American Greetings....

 

[Kacey]

Do you actually have a Sweetest Day there?? My step-daughter in Fla says they don not and never heard of such a holiday..I still believe it was a holiday created by American Greetings....

Sweetest Day was created (depending on who you ask) by a philanthropist to brighten the day of orphans and other needy children or by candy companies (the description on Wikipedia is a lot less philanthropic than that on other sites).

While many of the holidays we celebrate were not created by card and gift companies, such companies make no bones about using those holidays as revenue generating events. Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day, and many similar days were all started for supposedly altruistic reasons - and those don't bother me as much; the purpose, after all, was to recognize and thank people who were important to you, and I can see gift giving as a part of that. It's the commercialization of religious holidays (my mother actually found a Purim card to send me... and how many of you have even heard of Purim?) historical commemorations (July 4th, for example), and holidays such as Labor Day and Memorial Day that bothers me - too many of these have totally lost their meaning in the rush to sales, and it was that concept that prompted me to start this thread.

 

[OUMoose]

historical commemorations (July 4th, for example), and holidays such as Labor Day and Memorial Day that bothers me - too many of these have totally lost their meaning in the rush to sales, and it was that concept that prompted me to start this thread.

Which begs the question, if they didn't have all the sales and advertisements, would some of the commemorative days fall into obscurity (like Purim)?

 

[Kacey]

Which begs the question, if they didn't have all the sales and advertisements, would some of the commemorative days fall into obscurity (like Purim)?

Well, Purim is a Jewish holiday (it celebrates the story of Esther - so in that sense it is a historical commemoration), but it is not an American holiday like July 4th - I used it as an example of the card companies picking up any holiday they could, regardless of the meaning of the holiday - so falling into obscurity isn't really relevant for Purim the way it is for... say... Columbus Day, which really is falling into obscurity except for the holiday sales. I have to wonder if Columbus Day has fallen into obscurity because of the sales obscuring it, as much as the controversy over the holiday itself.