YOUR SHIPMENT IS DELAYED The mark of commercialization on the Christmas holiday and the current issues in filling orders Words Ainsley Plesko
T
ake a peek at any retail storefront in the last two months of the year and you’re bound to see a similar sight: a menagerie of decorative reindeer, snowflakes and wreaths. Christmas has become increasingly commercialized in the United States with gift-giving traditions, corporate advertisements and Santa Clause inspired wish lists. However, Christmas has not always been an integral in American society. In fact, Christmas celebrations were outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. As industrialization grew, companies began to see Christmas as a marketable holiday, reinventing the Christmas traditions we know and love today. Even before the colonies’ foundation, England experienced a shift in religious ideals as Oliver Cromwell defeated Charles I, injecting his Puritan
practices into the Commonwealth. According to History.com, “When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, canceled Christmas.” In 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne by Parliament and his rule brought the relaxation of Cromwell’s strict Puritan beliefs. Christmas began to be celebrated in England once again. As pilgrims began arriving in the New World in the 17th century, a divergence of religious ideals also arrived. Those with orthodox Puritan beliefs, like the Massachusetts Bay Colony, fined those found celebrating Christmas five shillings. In Plymouth, the Puritan Separatists regarded the holiday as a typical day of work, taking no time off to recognize
