It’s rather an old saw that Christmas has been secularized to such a degree it’s almost unrecognizable as a day of religious observance. Some would say, well, this is just the evolution of secularization – the separation of religion from civic culture. A secular society is certainly one consequence of American democracy, wherein freedom of (and even from) religion is a hallmark. So, of course, religious observance, once utterly central to everyday life, has become peripheral. However, I think something more can be said of Christmas in particular, apart from the general decline of religious observance.

Rooted in the Christian Gospel is the modern-day practice of Christmas gift-giving. Luke’s biblical narrative tells us that magi arrive to adore the Christ child with gifts. Despite being characterized in sacred scripture as an act of worship, gift-giving is precisely what has rendered Christmas not only a secular holiday but also a thoroughly commercial one. How did it happen that something sacred—indeed, an act of worship—became commodified in such unapologetic fashion?

Before I go further, know that I’m not on a path to ruin Christmas morning this year. Indeed, I find it inspiring that many Christians fight the commercialization of our traditions with alternative gift-giving practices like donating funds to the needy or to charitable causes that otherwise would be spent on gifts; scaling back to purchase far fewer gifts; making gifts; and even “re-gifting” as a sustainable practice. However, if you find yourself concerned at all that you participate in “shopping season” with far more zeal than in the religious observance of Advent and the Nativity, it might be worth noting how we ended up here.

I can help us understand our predicament with a concrete example. In the interest of full disclosure, the illustration I’m about to relate is not my own. As a former college instructor in humanities and religion, I researched and taught on the topic of religion and pop culture. One of my consistent lessons related to another researcher’s observations related to primetime television Christmas specials. (See Robert J Thompson’s chapter “Consecrating Consumer Culture: Christmas Television Specials” in the academic collection of essays, Religion and Popular Culture in America.) I’ll encapsulate his findings.

Can you name the only Christmas special on American primetime television – across ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX – that even intimates that Christmas is a religious tradition? There is only one. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, you recall that Linus recites part of the Lukan Gospel narrative. This is the only animated special that overtly witnesses to the religious nature of Christmas. And in doing so, the show insists that the birth of a saving Christ is the only meaningful interpretation of the holiday. Indeed, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Advertisers noticed when cutting away from A Charlie Brown Christmas to a commercial break, the often intrusively loud and flashy nature of primetime adverts clashed in an unsavory way with the content of the show. This, it was posited, created a negative response in viewers to the products being peddled during a show that focused on a deep, religious message. So, ad men promptly went about scripting commercials that dovetailed with the tone and message of not only A Charlie Brown Christmas but other Christmas specials, as well.

We see a perfect marriage of show content and shopping season advertising with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the beloved stop-motion animated Christmas special. Noteworthy is that, although there is a positive message of non-conformity and bravery evidenced in Rudolph’s personal story, there is also a strong emphasis on toy-making and gift-giving as the central way to celebrate Christmas. Advertisers seized on this, and, by scripting commercials that reflected the look and tone of the cartoon, they attempted to make a seamless transition between the show and the commercial breaks. The idea is that not only do the commercials feel less intrusive – more easily holding the viewers’ attention at break – they become part of the positive story of the show. Said another way, Christmas is more easily commercialized when a good story about Christmas lends itself to retail consumption – the purchasing of gifts for children to open on Christmas morning.

The argument stands that advertisers have exploited the gift-giving aspect of a religious holiday for commercial purposes. This is more than the natural progression of secularization. This is an intentional and conscious subversion of a religious impulse to sell products. Although we cannot attribute the current state of a commercialized Christmas to ad men alone, the phenomenon I describe here is significant.

My intention is not to cast a shadowy pall over your Christmas gift-giving celebrations. Truly, there is good news here. Christians, by their fuller awareness of how advertisers exploit religious meaning for purposes that are not religious, can more easily reclaim the biblical roots and theological meaning of Christmas – those that inspire Linus (and, indeed, Charles Schulz) to bear witness to the transformational power of the Messiah.

Merry Christmas.