How Christmas Became Big Business

Christmas didn’t become big business by accident. It became big business because it already meant something. So how did a sacred season turn into a cultural industry? And what did we lose—and gain—along the way?

In this episode, we explore:• How Christmas moved from the church into the public square• Why visibility made the season scalable, and sellable• How Santa shifted from folklore to storefronts• The role of department stores, Coca-Cola, and branding• How Hallmark industrialized Christmas sentiment• Why Starbucks taught us when Christmas starts• And what commercialization reveals about human longing

This episode closes out our first Christmas series on You’ve Heard It Said.

You’ve Heard It Said: where faith meets history and the stories we thought we knew come alive.

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