Sacralising the Profane: Creating Meaning With Christmas Consumption in the Uk

Although there is a substantial body of literature which has examined the celebration of Christmas from a variety of perspectives, relatively little attention has been paid in the consumer behaviour literature to understanding consumption meanings associated with this event. Apart from insights gained on consumption rituals and meanings of festivities, mainly written from a North American perspective, our knowledge of meaning creation through Christmas consumption is partial. Based on Belk et al’s (1989) examination of sacred and profane distinctions in consumer behaviour, this paper examines ways in which the British Christmas is being sacralised in the secular world of consumption.

Citation:

Caroline Tynan and Sally McKechnie (2005) ,"Sacralising the Profane: Creating Meaning With Christmas Consumption in the Uk", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 7, eds. Karin M. Ekstrom and Helene Brembeck, Goteborg, Sweden : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 182-188.