Celebrations should be about love, not consumption

Arab News

09-05-2025

https://arab.news/5z7gy
We have all heard the term 'Hallmark Holidays,' referring to holidays such as Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, which were designed to sell cards and flowers. Or perhaps we've heard how Coca-Cola popularized the modern image of Santa Claus in the 1930s to sell more sodas. There are so many new holidays to celebrate today, and almost all of them are driven by commercial interests.
Just look at the global expansion of Halloween, Black Friday sales, or even the appropriation of events such as Earth Day or Pride Month by commercial brands with the sole goal of increasing sales.
The adverse consequences of the monetization of holidays are at least twofold. Not only does the proliferation of holidays and spending obligations reduce the meaning of real celebrations, but it also encourages a tremendous amount of waste and unnecessary consumption.
If I try to remember every birthday in my extended family and circle of friends, I would spend most of the year writing cards and buying gifts. This would also diminish the true meaning and significance of those moments — for both me and the people I'm giving to. We should never put a price on relationships in this way. Celebrations should be about love, sincerity and appreciation.
Not only does the proliferation of holidays and spending obligations reduce the meaning of real celebrations, but it also encourages a tremendous amount of waste.
Hassan bin Youssef Yassin
Moreover, we are constantly looking for ways to help preserve our environment, and this is one of many areas where we can make an impactful start. By choosing not to allow corporations, media and advertising to shape our spending and behavior, we can significantly reduce waste and needless consumption. It doesn't matter where we start; it matters that we start.
When it comes to the environment and sustainability, I often look to the animal world for inspiration, as they have several hundred million years more experience than us. I cannot see any monkeys or elephants sending cards, ordering bouquets or mailing a banana to affirm their relationships. Nothing is wasted in the animal world, and social bonds are affirmed through actual care and attention.
There is much we can learn from our cousins in the animal world, who, despite having been around for tens or even hundreds of millions of years, have never imperiled the planet we all share.
What I am trying to say is that we must all start somewhere. Even if the commercialization of holidays doesn't seem like the most critical battleground in protecting our environment, it is one of many legitimate starting points to begin making a difference.
By doing so, we can implement some discipline to reduce waste and overconsumption. We have to start somewhere.
• Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi petroleum ministers Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1959 to 1967. He headed the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972 to 1981 and served with the Arab League observer delegation to the UN from 1981 to 1983.