The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum Book Analysis Essay Sample

Giving gifts during the holidays has been a tradition since the early 1800s. Before that, Christmas celebrations centered around feasting, making merry, and plenty of drunkenness in the streets. In his book, The Battle for Christmas, Stephen Nissenbaum describes the fear and dismay the middle and upper-class families felt at the unrestrained revelry of the poorer classes and the demands they placed on the wealthy in the name of Christmas goodwill. He states that it was through the aristocracy’s social influence that Christmas was taken off the streets and placed firmly into homes. According to Nissenbaum, “Making Christmas an indoor family affair meant enmeshing it in the commercial marketplace” (Nissenbaum 132). The uproarious, rowdy celebration of the holidays was replaced by unrestrained spending on gifts, a tradition that persists to this day. Instead of blindly following this tradition, we must transform holiday gift-giving from a hollow, commercial focus to a celebration of the giver’s regard for the recipient.

Ever since the development of the commercial interest in holiday gift-giving, the emphasis has been on spending money regardless of means. During the depression of 1839, Nissenbaum laments over the way “merchants, abetted by newspapers, openly used Christmas as a way to attract shoppers even in the depths of the depression” (Nissenbaum 137). Advertisers of the time endeavored to persuade shoppers to ignore the difficult times and buy holiday gifts. Ralph Waldo Emmerson wrote about this in 1844 in his essay “Gifts,” when he discussed the “difficulty experienced at Christmas and New Year” when people recognize “it is always so pleasant to be generous, though very vexatious to pay debts” (Emmerson par. 1). 

This mindset of generosity while accruing debt continues to this day. Holiday gift purchases on the special marketing day following Thanksgiving earned it the name “Black Friday” because the abundant purchases on that day caused the stores’ ledgers to go from being “in the red” to “in the black” – a change from a negative balance to a profit. Unfortunately, what is good for businesses is not necessarily good for individual families. According to the World Economic Forum, 22% of Americans go into debt spending money during the holidays, averaging around $1,000 in borrowed money, much of that debt placed on high-interest credit cards. This debt causes additional stress and seems out of place in the holiday season of supposed peace.

Why then is there this drive to spend money on gifts, regardless of means? Much of it comes from a feeling of nostalgia. The holidays represent a time of remembered childhood joy, and gifts associated with the holidays are an integral part of those special memories. People search to recapture this joy by purchasing gifts to lavish on others. Sadly, though, the remembered joy is often sweeter than the reality. 

Nostalgia is not the only driving force in the need to provide gifts. There is also the societal pressure to give gifts. Office parties hold Secret Santa events where staff members agonize over the appropriate gift to give the unknown coworker from down the hall. Aunt Susie would be heartbroken to not receive that certain tchotchke she expects. Children would be devastated to see empty stockings on the mantel and a barren floor under the tree. Then there is what gift-giving represents. A person choosing to opt-out of the gift-giving tradition is regarded as a miser, labeled as a Scrooge with a “humbug” attitude. Generous folks receive admiration and are viewed as successful since they have enough money to afford luxury gifts. Both the futile attempt to recapture childhood wonderment and the desire to appear generous and successful cause people to continue the commercial emphasis of holiday gifting.

Instead of this hollow pursuit of nostalgia and popular favor, the emphasis of gifts should shift to something more meaningful. Emmerson addresses this need for value in gifts when he declares “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou must bleed for me” (Emmerson par. 2). This may seem extreme, but he uses such strong language to shock the reader into acknowledging the need for the giver to truly give what is valuable and meaningful. When we apply this philosophy of giving from the heart to holiday gifts, it means we can no longer grab whatever is convenient or popular but must consider what we wish our gift to represent. It ought to match the recipient’s personality, tastes, wishes, and needs. Beyond that, it should convey to the recipient the love and regard the giver has for them. We can no longer settle for giving a gift just for the sake of crossing something off the list. Perhaps we should drop the societal pressure of giving a gift to every single person and reserve gifts for those we hold most dear.

Unfortunately, this change in attitude regarding holiday gift-giving must not occur only in the heart of the giver. The recipient must also adopt this mindset of value and meaning over plentiful but hollow gifts. Unless both sides of the equation accept the richer meaning of gifts, there will be no change. People will continue going into debt buying gifts for those who do not need or want what is given. Everyone must work together to have the true spirit of the season be represented in the tradition of giving and receiving gifts.