The Dark Reality of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. From Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, and everything in between, festive cheer has invaded every home, doorway, and greeting. Winter break is just around the corner for students here at AFS, and school spirit is high with Winterfest and pep rallies around the corner. 

Everyone is excited to enjoy the holiday season. It’s the perfect excuse to indulge in delicious foods, celebrations, and the most important aspect: giving and receiving the perfect gift.

Holiday gift-giving, particularly Christmas presents, originates from the pagan practice of celebrating the winter solstice with small tokens to symbolize good fortune. In fact, it was the Roman Saturnalia, celebration of deity Saturn, that cemented the idea of giving gifts in times of joy, as Romans would exchange small figurines and candles. 

When Christianity began to increase in popularity, it was only natural that they assume a similar time frame–the middle of winter–in order to absorb the pagan and Roman traditions already in place. 

Hanukkah, on the other hand, has a more recent history with the practice of gift-giving.

While much of the large gifts we now associate with Hanukkah most likely came from consumerism and the holiday’s proximity to Christmas, there is one Jewish tradition that has to do with exchanging goods. Gelt, gold-wrapped chocolate disks, is given every night for children to eat, barter, or play with, and it is used to remind everyone of the value of charity, as gelt used to be something that children would gift to their teachers. 

Over the years, the gifting aspect of these holidays have exploded in popularity. Americans estimate that they will spend, on average, over $1,000 on the holidays, the majority of that on gift cards or clothing. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 55% of customers said they will be purchasing their holiday goods online, while only 12% said they would be going to a thrift store.

In fact, the NRF found that the total retail spending in November and December is expected to surpass one trillion dollars. 

What pushes people to feel the need to spend so much money on materialistic items around the holidays? King’s College London offers a hypothesis that has more to do with psychology than tradition or social expectations.

With the massive number of sales around the holidays, desire to purchase might just be attributed to avoiding feelings of regret for not buying something. Regret of omission is a real, studied phenomenon, and it has to do with when we feel bad for not doing something, rather than actively doing something. 

When we pass up on a deal, we feel regret for not taking advantage of the sale, even if we didn’t need the item in the first place. That only heightens our need to consume and buy more, in order to eradicate regret. And while those feelings might be temporary, there is another psychological phenomenon that might constantly surround us.

Leon Festinger introduced the Social Comparison Theory all the way back in 1954 to discuss the human need to compare ourselves to each other, for both better and worse. This phenomenon might be at play, particularly with the rise of social media. 

On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it’s hard to avoid videos about overconsumption. Whether it’s “Christmas haul” videos, videos about getting gifts for others, or even aesthetic videos about decorating the house for the holidays, it’s common to see influencers buying, receiving, and giving items that seem impractically expensive or luxurious. 

Social media tends to give an overly glamorized view of people’s lives, and audiences often compare themselves to these idealized snippets of other’s lives. After seeing all of these clips about elaborate gifts, feelings of inadequacy are common, leading people to overconsume just to make up for their own discontentment. 

But what could the harm be? As it turns out, overconsumption has a massive impact on the environment.

In many ways, overconsumption leads to an exacerbation of climate change. The entire manufacturing process, from the acquisition of raw materials to the processing to the shipping, releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. A singular product releases about 6.3 times its weight in carbon emissions. A 2021 study found that 45% of greenhouse gas emissions came from the production of the things that we buy and consume. 

Greenhouse gas emissions are directly linked to climate change, and warming temperatures can spell disaster for ecosystems. Adding the deforestation that occurs when raw materials have to be pulled from the earth, and it’s no surprise biodiversity is decreasing. 

While climate change is an issue that will continue to plague us for many years to come, its effects on humanity aren’t as tangible yet. Still, overconsumption leads to many immediate impacts on humans around the world. 

To make a phone or tablet, which are common gifts around the holidays, rare minerals need to be mined, and many of these minerals are not mined in sustainably or humane ways. Child labor, hazardous and toxic materials, and horrible working conditions are just some of the problems that Congolese miners face when trying to extract cobalt for phone batteries. 

Another example is the oil that must be extracted in order to ship products from their factories to consumers. The Niger Delta used to be the world’s largest, thriving wetland, but the harmful chemicals that are produced during the oil mining process cause acid rain in the Niger Delta. 

People living in the Niger Delta are experiencing a great decrease in quality of life. Acid rain destroys crops, buildings, and pollutes water. According to a 2021 study, individuals who live in areas that are mined for oil have higher cancer rates than those who don’t. In addition to the breathing problems and bronchitis that plagues these areas, the life expectancy of those in the Niger Delta now sits at 41 years old. 

It is clear that overconsumption is impacting the world in more ways than one. So, what can you do about it? 

One easy step you can take is shopping locally. Shopping locally decreases carbon footprint due to shorter journeys and usually requires less packaging. Additionally, shopping in small, independent stores makes it much easier to buy less, without the distractions and gimmicks of big retailers like Amazon.

Here at AFS, there are even some options to buy homemade items and give back to the community. Brian Cassady’s Small Farms class can sometimes be found selling honey from our school’s bees. This winter, on December 17, the Art Fair will be taking place again. There, AFS students will be selling artwork and other holiday gifts, which is a wonderful opportunity to support young artists and celebrate the holiday without exacerbating the issue. 

In the end, awareness in and of itself can help lessen your contribution to overconsumption. Refrain from buying much more than what you don’t absolutely need, and remember to reuse and repair as much as possible. 

According to the National Retail Federation, Generation Z’s buying power is expected to reach $12 trillion by 2030. That means that as a generation, we have the power to change the course of consumption. The question is, will we?