Sociologial Analysis of Christmas

Because there are no data presently available on the theme of consumer behaviour at Christmas in Portsmouth regarding food, more general research was carried out. Although many researchers talked about Christmas from a variety of perspectives, limited

There are three main theories of sociology; functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. This paper will focus on two of those theories, functionalism and conflict theory. The objective is to delineate the assumptions of two out of the three theoretical perspectives and apply these assumptions to an analysis of social stratification. How this will be accomplished will be by comparing and contrasting their assumptions and by analyzing the two theories affect on social stratification. Then I will state my opinion on which of the two better fits my personal sociological views. Functionalism is many people's way to view the world sociologically. It states clearly that the

Christmas is the annual festival celebrating the birth of Jesus on the 25th December, at least that is what it began as initially. Since it has expanded into an international phenomenon for consumption, taking priority over our everyday practices of life (Michel De Certeau, 1980). Our time we spend divided between work and leisure in accordance to the codes and conventions of society shifts, Christmas derails these expectations. Yet surprisingly Christmas gains little attention in terms of social research, despite the fact that it can be explored diversely. The inquiry ‘What is Christmas?’ links to multiple aspects of social research. The aspects of Christmas can be subdivided into the following; religion, commercialism, gift-giving, social relationships, sensualism and mythology. This essay will analyse these fundamentals of Christmas through both psychological and sociological perspectives, as the theories among these two social sciences are best suited to the elements which make up Christmas itself.

Penne Restad wrote a book “Christmas in America: A History.” It shows how Americans began to slowly shape Christmas into a unifying national holiday during the first half of the 19th century. She describes how Christmas had different meanings for Americans who came from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Many immigrants brought Christmas traditions from their own countries.

Symbolic interactionists reject structure and believe that to study society, the only way to do so is to concentrate on the individual. Both theories believe in understanding the individual through the use of empathy. George Herbert Mead was mainly concerned with the importance of language. Language distinguishes humans from animals and allows us to be aware of our individuality.

One thing that makes Christmas such a special holiday is the fact that it combines festivities and religion, two things that have driven humanity for centuries. The fact that Christianity is the most popular religion around the world, drives anticipation for a day tied to the centerpiece of the religion. There is also the historical context of religion and festivals that has stake in many cultures throughout history. These two things make Christmas uniquely positioned to drive anticipation in the lives of people around the world.

“The conflict perspective views society less as a cohesive system and more as an arena of conflict and power struggles”. This perspective was founded by sociologist Karl Marx (1818-1883) and serves to introduce the concept that “inequality and specifically inequality under capitalism” exists between two main “classes” in society namely the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The functionalist perspective – another major sociological theory – was founded by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) and also includes contributions by Herbert Spencer

ABSTRACT: In contemporary philosophy and social theory, Harbermas's theory of communicative action stands indisputably for a modernity enlightened about itself and its potential. Yet, however much he professes his commitment to universalist ideals of inclusiveness and equality, his influential theory is also marked by disquieting statements on matters of gender. I argue that the problem of gender in Habermas's theory can be traced to his attempt to rework the Marxian tradition of historical materialism. I do so by (a) discussing Habermas's proposal for reconstructing this tradition, and (b) examining the system/lifeworld distinction on which the theory of communicative action

age. In the past it has been about celebrating Christ’s birth with family, but the world has turned it into a violent Black Friday, and a mockery towards Christians. Followers of Christ are people as everyone else, but the world seems to believe that it is acceptable to make fun of those who think something different than themselves. The way this world signifies Christmas has to be changed by the generations to come. The significance of Christmas has to be found again.

Ever since I was younger, decorating our Christmas tree has always been a big deal in my family. We decorate just about two weeks before Christmas, always on a Sunday night after our family dinner. This night has always been special to me, in fact it is probably one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season. My grandparents who are local come over, we turn on Christmas music, and the fireplace. We have Christmas cookies with hot chocolate and just make a night of it. The last part of the night, but arguably the most important, is when my Dad places our glass angel atop the tree. It signifies, to me at least, the reason we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. However, lately, I’ve noticed a recent trend that confuses me. In the past couple years I’ve noticed that people, even those in my own extended family, use items either from popular culture, or just random things they find important, as their tree toppers. My Uncle Mike and Aunt Kelly use a Phillies baseball hat, my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Steve use a personalized set of Mickey Mouse ears from their honeymoon, my friend Nicoletta and her family simply use a plain, old santa hat. I grew up to believe and see Christmas as a religious holiday, we go to mass on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day, it’s just a part of our tradition. Growing up, I just assumed everyone else held these ideas and traditions as well. So to see people so close to me change something I thought was so sacred and something everyone else

Christmas, a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, not a day for giving meaningless gifts to people (Apposition). Thanksgiving is the day when the Pilgrims and the Indians stopped fighting and sat down to enjoy a nice meal together. Today, many families fight over trivial issues and yell at the TV while a football game plays on the screen. Easter is a day for celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, however, with the ever changing society, children run around searching for plastic eggs filled with candy, while some also receive baskets full of more meaningless gifts. The symbolic meaning behind holidays has been overtaken by materialistic items which hold no

Structural Functionalism is “A major sociological perspective that views society as an interdependent system of parts (structures) and purposes (functions) that work together to make a society operate (Larkin, 2015)”. In order for a society to work all parts of the same society must work together. In structural functionalism society nearly depends on one another to stay afloat. If Something changes it can causes a disruption in society and begins to make things become unbalanced. Functionalism focuses on many groups that make up society, for example Government, Judiciary, and religion are some of the key groups that benefits in society strengthening their social relationships and the very world humans live in.

There is a lot of Christmas traditions in this world. Every American family celebrates Christmas in a different way! My family's celebration of christmas is an example of a typical American Christmas. My sisters go to a private school (Immanuel Lutheran School). Every year they put on this Christmas Program at our church, and like always it turns out adorable with the cute songs they sing to the intriguing way they act out their parts. Being an American means you get to celebrate different holidays in some places you’re not even allowed too,we have freedom in America.

Early sociologists, instrumental in the development of sociology’s three foundational theories, --George Herbert Meade, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx-- established the framework of symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict theory. Each played key roles in establishing the levels and focuses on analysis that are used in applying the three theoretical perspectives to the study of human actions, decisions, behavior, and other external elements, which can be explained not only by analyzing the individual scenario, but also by analyzing the context in which that individual is placed. Although all three theories are interconnected and important in sociology, the theory that is most useful in studying society today is conflict theory.

Today is November 1st, which means in approximately 22 days I have to clock in at work. You may be thinking, You have to work? Big deal. But, if you take a moment to think about it, that day falls on Thanksgiving. The thought of “The Holidays” might provoke feelings of togetherness, happiness and warmth. But, for others, Thanksgiving and Christmas can be a stressful, surreal blur.1 Many Americans strive to make Thanksgiving perfect by planning and prepping weeks—even months—before. Walmarts and other stores are packed to the brim with customers from the months of November to January. Last year, Walmart sold more than 150 million pounds of ham and turkey before Thanksgiving. In November alone, more than six pies were sold per second at