Each year, youth from a nearby church embrace the role of Christmas carolers and grace my neighborhood with their harmonic voices in the early weeks of December. Yet, Christmas is right around the corner and I didn’t hear the high pitched squeals I’ve come to love over the years. What happened?
Believe it or not, the spirit associated with the holidays are dying. The celebration of particular holidays may be unique to each culture and society, but the loss of joy and importance in celebrating the holidays is a universal truth. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2013, 36 percent of children went Christmas caroling. In 2014, only 16 percent went. This year even fewer children are expected to partake in this centuries old celebration. Across the board, fewer people are participating in the major U.S. holidays than ever before.
In general, holidays are the perfect chance to take a step back from the “everyday grind” and relax with family and friends. Everyone is more willing to spend money, volunteer to help the poor, and be more cheerful; the holidays are also a great way to alleviate depression, a lack of purpose, and loneliness. Why else would someone celebrate holidays like April Fools’ Day or St. Patrick’s Day?
Unfortunately, the up and coming millennial generation is more concerned with personal finance, satisfaction, and accomplishment. For Black Friday this year, Verizon encouraged the theme of getting. They advertised a free gigabyte of data for all their customers. The tagline? #Thanksgetting. Also, the ad features a Thanksgiving dinner with phones on the family’s plates instead of the celebration and interaction particular to the holiday. The “millennialists” that do celebrate the major holidays are more concerned with buying themselves the latest iPhone with a discount than giving a present to a friend. Now, more people associate the holidays with a sense of getting and self-regret. They ask themselves “where did all the fun that I was supposed to have go this holiday” instead of living in the moment and celebrating with a childish innocence.
