Once we pass the great holiday of Thanksgiving, the spirit of the Holiday season rolls around with an immense focus on the act of gift-giving. As we turn our televisions on, search the internet, look through our phones, and our emails, we are constantly bombarded with various advertisements for holiday-related sales and discounts.

These advertisements tend to play on the sentiments that follow the Holiday season--happiness, joy, and satisfaction-- which, are accentuated through the act of giving a gift which is supposed to elicit such emotions and sentiments from individuals such as the ones listed above. This continues to enforce the expectation for one to purchase the desired gifts for loved ones, to give the gift to the loved ones in hopes of fulfilling this transaction--an exchanging of gifts for the fulfillment of one's emotions.

Gift-giving is a concept of great complexity that has become a commoditized event during the holiday season. That belief that one must give their loved ones’ gifts during the season has become a standard expectation, that myself and others continue to abide by. As much as I enjoy the act of gift-giving during the holiday season, I have begun to ask myself the following question regarding this standard seasonal expectation: What exactly enforces us to abide by this expectation to give?

I believe that our desire to abide by these expectations is the belief that such an action can result in the following: a reciprocation of a gift, a fulfillment of positive emotions, and a genuine completion of the Holiday season. The expectations aren't necessarily written in law, they are merely actions of expectation; such expectations have become the "norm" during the holiday season and continue to guide the sentiment during such a time.

But does the presence of such a focus on gift-giving detach us humans from the sentiments of love and family that are meant to be appreciated and felt during this season? Has the presence of mass consumerism during the Holiday season ruined the sentiment that is the Holiday season—spending time with loved ones, friends, and family— have we lost touch with the purpose of this season? Has consumerism switched the focus from quality time with loved ones to solely focusing on what we, as individuals, can gain from the gift-giving process?

I don’t necessarily have a definite opinion regarding this topic and this question, but I think that it is a topic that deserves some form of contemplation.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays everyone. Take into consideration what you value most during this season and use that to live your best life