Over the last couple of decades the spirit of holidays has been altered for the worse. I believe that the reason students are were originally provided a winter break was to spend time with family and celebrate important family and cultural values.

Sadly, corporate America has taken advantage of this time of year to promote sales. They persuade consumers into believing that they must buy presents for relatives to show their gratitude. In reality, big business is just hijacking the holidays in order to bolster sales.

Their artificial creation, Black Friday, is designed to convince gullible buyers to spend excessive amounts of money on unnecessary items. It has become shopping for the sake of shopping.

Further emphasizing just how superficial holidays have become, Scotch sells “pre-cut,” easily dispensable, tape during the holidays. This appeals to people who want to wrap presents without the hassle of having to actually pull the tape off of the roll and tug it across the dispenser blade. Have we become so conditioned that we will spend money on a such a product to insure that our holiday efforts are truly the least we could do?

Corporations may pretend that the winter season is about buying gifts for friends and family, but I disagree. Christmas, and other cultural celebrations, should be about spending quality time with people you care about. Instead of giving store-bought gifts, why not hang out with friends and do something together.

Over the holidays, families should be decorating a tree, wrapping homemade gifts, or baking cookies to bond with one another, not out wasting their money on pointless gifts offered by selfish American business insensitive to the real meaning of the holidays.