Do corporations run Christmas?

No.

Ok I have bought many nice christmas ornaments and some decorations. I also used to buy the younger kids toys (no more kids I have to buy for anymore). I also buy christmas cards and use my own postage system. Then I have bought some lights but not to many. My only real vice would be the ornaments really.

On flip side I typically make the majority of my gifts since they go to adults. Usually an assortment of jams, jellies, pickles, olives, marinated veggies, seasoned oils & vinegars, specialty soaps, cookies & other baked goods, and sometimes we also do quilts.

We also get a permit to go get our own tree. We use real branches and trimmings for extra decoration, have done home made wreaths too.

Ok we may buy some wrappers, tissue paper, ribbons, and boxes. Then yes I sometimes buy the wife jewelry or something nice and she often will pick me up some gadget I want for my kitchen.

Well, I bet that 100 or 200 years ago, christmas trees probably didn't go up and get decorated in the middle of November.

Christmas gets pushed hard pretty much right after Halloween (which has been promoted hard) ends.

Wal-mart owns Christmas.

Santa Claus runs Christmas.

I think a better question would be do corporation ruin Christmas

Oh, that one is easy. Yes. Esp. Wal-Mart. I went in there before Halloween (I had to, I needed hemorrhoid cream - was the only thing open) and they already had the Christmas shit out. Fucking insane. I swear, everytime I walk into a store around the holidays, I have in my head the jungle bells tune, only the whole song is just one word: "buy". Over and over again.

You can always opt to buy handmade items. Support local boutiques that make one of a kind things or buy from diy shops online.

corporations? no, consumers? yes

It's a vicious cycle between the advertising and the consumer..... they make advertising based on what they know we will want, but what we want is based on the advertising we see/hear.

In a sense, they lead each other down the path.... as consumer's change, so does the advertising, and as the advertising changes, so does the consumer.

Consumers WANT more Christmas.... advertisers push it. Advertisers push more Christmas, consumers want it.

I like to give my friends and loved ones,
the personal gift of a nice warm poo...

No corporations needed, just the toilet

only the biggest in the world you moron. The only church that has its filthy hands in everything - the catholic church.

That REALLY makes Xmas special...

Put it this way: Coca-Cola Company invented the popular image of santa.

Uh, let's see, a guy who never wrote a word died two thousand years ago and now we spend two months out of the year quoting what some guys said he said in another language a couple decades after he was dead. It's all fucking hearsay, dude! What was the question again? Jesus Christ I feel like Jim in Taxi.

Kesey

Throughout the 20th century, the United States experienced what became known as the Christmas controversies over the nature of the day, and its dual status as a religious feast day and a secular holiday of the same name. The importance of the economic impact of the secular Christmas holiday was reinforced in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed moving the Thanksgiving holiday date to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy during the Great Depression.[24] Religious leaders protested this move, with a New York Times roundup of Christmas sermons showing the most common theme as the dangers of an increasingly commercial Christmas.[25]

Some considered the U.S. government's recognition of Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation of the separation of church and state. This was brought to trial several times, recently including in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)[23] and Ganulin v. United States (1999).[26]

On December 6, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin v. United States (1999) declared that "the establishment of Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose." This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on December 19, 2000. At the same time, many devout Christians objected to what they saw as the vulgarization and cooption of one of their sacred observances by secular commercial society and calls to return to "the true meaning of Christmas" are common.

Debates about Christmas in America continued into the 21st century. In 2005, some Christians, along with American political commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, protested what they perceived to be the secularization of Christmas. They felt that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Christian agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.[27]

Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items in October and early November.[36]

In most areas, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day of the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.

An economists analysis calculates that Christmas is a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[37][38] Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[39]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas


Short answer for you lazy fuckheads...

Yes.

Xmas has been around alot longer than corporations.

Xmas is the celebration of the day Santa Claus was born, and he's older than even baddog.

Oh my Gawd! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Nothing says love like fresh baked goods !