Cele Otnes, a professor of marketing, has led a new study on how families negotiate holiday rituals.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Worried the Christmas spirit has been cast aside like a lousy gift amid a frantic, commercialized holiday rush that cranks up even before Halloween’s pumpkins start to shrivel?
A University of Illinois marketing expert says twinkling examples of the storied yuletide theme will turn up in more than 80 million homes across the country over the next few weeks, wrapped in garland and flecked with ornaments.
Christmas trees are not only the centerpiece of most household celebrations, but also a shining symbol of sacrifice that reflects what the season is all about, said Cele Otnes, a marketing professor who led a new study on how families negotiate holiday rituals.
“People want to have a happy holiday, so they go to great lengths to make sure that these negotiations do not disturb the family orientation of the holiday,” said Otnes, whose research also has examined weddings and other consumer rituals.
Buying, decorating and even disposing of Christmas trees are just a few potential sources of conflict among family members, who often have differing views about beauty and tradition, according to a study that will appear next year in a new book, “Consumer Culture Theory,” (Taylor & Francis Publications).
But rather than bickering, families come up with creative solutions, based on findings from roughly hourlong interviews with more than two dozen people, Otnes says.
Much of the give-and-take involves ornaments – sentimental collections that grow and age every year as parents add glittery bulbs from stores and kids make new ones at school.
“There are clearly people who think other people’s ornaments are ugly,” Otnes said. “But instead of saying ‘those are not getting on the tree – I hate their guts,’ they make up games like hiding them in the tree so they have to go find them.
“It becomes part of the tradition that you tease and joke in order to defuse real tensions over taste differences.
“Or when ornaments get old and worn, you stick them on the back of the tree, or on a second tree. We found people who have two or three trees. Some of them are in the basement and no one ever sees them unless they’re doing laundry,” she said.
Other battered ornaments may wind up strung across vestibules or as outdoor decorations, keeping them in the holiday mix without junking up the tree, Otnes said.
“People don’t get rid of ornaments because there’s too much sentiment. So what they have to do is manage the abundance,” said Otnes, who teaches in the department of business administration.
Along with satisfying tastes and traditions, compromises also seek to keep the whole family involved in the tree-trimming ritual, Otnes said.
In some families, though, she says one person takes charge and runs the show. The “ritual chancellor,” usually the woman of the house, typically either wants to control holiday aesthetics or is forced take over because of a family lifecycle change, such as children getting older and refusing to take part.
“It’s not that common because it’s a family holiday, so to have someone take over the whole thing doesn’t feed into the family nature,” Otnes said. “We don’t want to shove our kids aside and have them watch ‘Hannah Montana’ while we’re doing all of the decorating.”
Otnes says she wasn’t surprised by the spirit of cooperation that emerged in the study, co-written by visiting business administration professor Robert Kreuzbauer, doctoral student Elizabeth Crosby and undergraduate student Jennifer Ho.
“Rituals like Christmas help keep people frozen in time,” Otnes said. “They’re like little time capsules. You want your time capsule to be something that is hopefully positive.”
Editor’s note: To contact Otnes, call 217-265-0799; or e-mail: cotnes@illinois.edu.
