Is there an economic message in Christmas? – Lawrence Zammit

Christmas is in two days’ time. The economics of Christmas are significant because it is typically a high-volume selling season. Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts, food and drink, and supplies, and even eat out more to celebrate. Some retailers claim that as much as 70 per cent of their sales happen during the so-called Christmas season.

Over the years, a new term has come into usage – ‘Christmas creep’. Retailers use it to describe the phenomenon of the Christmas retailing season starting earlier and earlier each year.

Many of us remember when Christmas decorations in the shops appeared only in December. Then the selling season began encroaching into November (possibly also because of the Black Friday frenzy), and now it has moved to October.

If anyone wants to know the reason why this has happened, look for the old saying “follow the money trail”. As such, in this regard, there is an economic message in Christmas, entrenched in consumerism and secularisation. However, there are other economic considerations to make for the Christmas period.

Christmas is a time of the year when economic inequalities are brought all too clearly in the open. Putting it a bit...