The obvious growth of Santa and his elves over the years has been inevitable. There’s a certain comfort we have in the idea of Santa Claus. He’s a hero, he has no fault. He brings joy and comfort to billions, all over the world. We grow up, and although we grow to the reality that he isn’t all we thought he was, we still embrace him. We can argue religion, politics, sports, work, school, literature, music, everything under the sun. But Santa Claus? He brings us together, in times of peace, war and disaster. In a time of excessive commercialisation, there’s always room for our big red friend. Let the brief interlude of December continue to offer a temporary holiday to our laboured lives.
Today’s Christmas holds traditions of its own. We wait for for our annual John Lewis advert to take us on an emotional rollercoaster, one unique and exclusive event to the festive time of the year. We are captivated by the notion of a perfect Christmas fuelled by glitter, snow, prosecco and most importantly, the desired gifts. Older generations on the other hand are endeared to such traditions such as oranges in stockings and candle bridges. Perhaps older generations were contented with the most simple traditions, because they knew that the traditions are not the most important aspect of Christmas. By bringing together family and friends, we can see that without all the commercial nonsense we buy into, Christmas would be just as special.