Over the course of my life, Christmas has changed from a major religious holiday to a secular, commercialised undertaking. Although I am far from keen on the rampant consumerism that is now an integral part of the season, at its core Christmas is still about goodwill to others and a sense of coming together. So, if you’re expecting this to be a “Bah Humbug” post, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. However, I would like to focus on one aspect of Christmas culture that has grown exponentially over the years. It’s a phenomenon that seems to happen to most customs and rituals that persist in our consumer-focused society. Namely the fetishization of Christmas. By that I mean the way in which Christmas is packaged, marketed and shoe-horned into every possible commercial opportunity. We’ve reached a point culturally, where if we are exposed to a set of standardised faux seasonal stimuli, we are expected to have a specific Pavlovian response. For example, if I create a yuletide tableau featuring “snow”, “roaring fires” and “angelic children singing carols” one is contractually obliged to respond with what is colloquially referred to as “Christmas feels”.