It’s that time of year again. She’s back – bigger, brighter, and making more money than ever. This year, singer and songwriter Mariah Carey is right on time, continuing the tradition of thawing right before Christmas.
Mariah’s defrosting starts an instant frenzy – trees are up, lights are hanging, and carols are being sung around the fireplace – right after Halloween. Foreshadowing her imminent Christmas arrival, Mariah Carey has dropped her annual video every midnight on November 1 since 2019. No matter how it is being perceived, it has people talking – and streaming. “All I Want for Christmas is You” is back on the charts, rising to the number one spot, just like it has every December since 2019.
With the modernization of Christmas, it has become just as much of a spectacle as it is a tradition. The season of family and giving has become more centered around materialistic belongings. American culture uses decorations to show its holiday pride, viewing it as a yearly competition.
“I remember when (I) would drive around when I was a kid to see the lights, and they were just amazing,” Director of Library and Information Science Lee DeGroft said. “But now, as you’re driving around, you’re seeing lights and huge blown-up snowmen and reindeer; so it’s definitely changed.”
The annual revenue gained from the holiday has increased dramatically over the past few years as a result of the higher demand for gifts and decorations. According to ExplodingTopics, US holiday retail sales have increased every year since 2008. In 2024, the total holiday sales nearly reached $100 billion, over doubling the sales made in 2004.
“(It is most likely) because of rampant consumerism,” DeGroft said. “The commercialization of a holiday is going to happen with any holiday.”
The commercialization of Christmas is a common pattern as well. Mariah Carey is currently facing her own backlash after turning this year’s annual holiday video into a collaboration with Sephora. In the video, a working elf is pictured going on strike just to afford “elf therapy” and attempts to “cancel Christmas.” This made critics feel as though the video was making fun of current labor movements and people struggling to receive healthcare.
“(She is) already making millions a year from that one song,” sophomore Gabriela Garcia said. “I think she did it to make money because she already knows (the ad) is going to do well. So she just thought, ‘might as well just get more,’ but I don’t think she thought that people wouldn’t like that.”
Many other brands also capitalize on the holidays, especially online. According to a Forbes article published last December, consumers spent $10.8 billion online during Black Friday and $13.3 billion online on Cyber Monday, labeling it the “biggest online shopping day of all time.” To get a bigger picture, consumers spent $77.4 billion online from November 1 to November 24 in 2024 — the biggest time for holiday shopping.
Not only are consumer buying habits rapidly rising, but so is the number of people becoming involved in decorating this year, one person being Junior Campbell Alch.
“(This year), we decorated our house starting the weekend before Halloween,” Alch said. “We have 13 Christmas trees. My parents have made it super special, and they still continue to do that.”
The latest trend for this year is a “Ralph Lauren Christmas,” which is really just a traditional red and green Christmas with a fancy new name. It’s cozy, timeless, and nostalgic. Whether it is a “Ralph Lauren Christmas” or any other rebranded theme, social media tends to want to change the traditional into the next big aesthetic.
“People can do what they want, but I think that you don’t want to focus on changing the vibe of Christmas (to be) more than what it is and what it means to you,” Alch said.
Whether people start decorating in October or wait until the last leaf has hit the ground, the holiday season truly seems to begin at Mariah Carey’s first high note. And even though the Sephora ad has people debating what the underlying meaning is, the spirit of Christmas remains the same – filled with love.
“Christmas is a holiday that you know is reverberating around so many people (no matter the religion),” DeGroft said. “It is a holiday that everybody recognizes means something, whether it’s family, religion, or hope. I like feeling that connectedness that we all have, a day that we can make special in some way.”
