The changing face of Christmas amid new harsh economic realities

Staff and guests at Lake Bogoria Spa Resort in Baringo county celebrate Christmas day on December 25, 2021. [Standard]

It’s the great paradox of life; the longer we live, the more unexciting life becomes.

Perhaps it is because we get used to the routine of life like the sun rising and setting every day.  

The same applies to festivities. Think of Christmas when you were young and innocent. 

That excitement fades with age, with other things competing for your attention. But take heart, even unpleasant experiences such as Covid-19, war or even unpleasant neighbours become bearable over time.  

It’s not surprising that we get used to Christmas celebrations every year. The songs I heard as a child are repeated every year.

Marketers try to revive the spirit of the festive season with new adverts. This year, they have been muted by Covid-19. 

Celebrations such as birthdays or even Christmas are victims of the economic law of diminishing marginal utility. Simply put, the more you consume something, the less satisfying it becomes. Think of your first pair of shoes, car ride, ice cream or even a  kiss or embrace.  

Subsequent products or services are less satisfying. This is why manufacturers keep changing their products even when consumers are not complaining.

Necessities like food seem to be exempt from this rule to some extent. We want our traditional foods.

No wonder high-end hotels have added boiled maize, ugali, musenye,  kimanga and mukimo on their menus. Should marriage obey the law of diminishing marginal utility?  

The same goes for celebrations. Holding all factors constant, the next celebration is less exciting even without Covid-19. The young ones enjoy such moments the most as it is their first time” They are excited and love showing off to their agemates or talking about it.  

Marketers’ creativity is demanded to counter the law of diminishing marginal utility.  How do you make the same celebration different?

Venues and additional services often change. Have you noted how seats are now decorated in venues and the flower arrangement and the music are different too?  All this in trying to capture our attention. Noted that weddings are now held on any day, not just Saturdays? 

Diminishing marginal utility depends on your social-economic class. In the rural areas, things have not changed much besides Nairobians storming the villages wearing astronaut clothes, carrying new phones, driving cars or talking in all manner of accents. Because of poverty, more is demanded of Nairobians. Never mind Covid-19, the generosity of Nairobians is a welcome relief in the countryside.

The brief period is full of fun, food, shopping and a long list of lost friends. Nairobians  get recognition for their “ generosity.”  

But are they really generous? They just benefit from the higher purchasing power.  Think of it: a cup of tea goes for Sh10 in the rural areas compared to Sh50 in small hotels or Sh250 in starred hotels in Nairobi.  Rural folks may not be aware of the price of tea or andazi in the city. Rural folks have another source of generosity - the diaspora folk who send money either around the festive season or during funerals or sickness.

Such generosity brightens up the countryside and forestalls the law of diminishing marginal utility. The diaspora money is in hard currency, which  raises its purchasing power and generosity of the “donors.”  

The law of diminishing returns is works differently in the rural areas, where the attention span is longer and by extension prolongs excitement.

An event in rural areas can cause a buzz for a week, while in the city its excitement will dissipate within a day.

Commercial activity

The law of diminishing marginal utility curve is steeper in the urban areas than in rural areas. 

In urban areas, entertaining children coming home from abroad or visitors is the norm. Others travel to holiday destinations from beaches to national parks or abroad. In the diaspora, the excitement around Christmas is lower. There are other more pressing needs from working to lack of social support.  Let’s add the fact that religion has lost its grip on the national psyche in the diaspora. The separation of church and state is real. This turns Christmas into more of a commercial activity than a religious celebration. 

With time, Kenya is becoming more westernised. The change goes beyond infrastructure and the new laws that loosen our grip on traditions like women inheriting their fathers, women empowerment and slow acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning or queer.  

We are becoming less attached to traditional celebrations. Curiously, we are at the same time getting more attached to local celebrations like birthdays, baby showers, graduations, Halloween, among others.  

What about this year’s Christmas celebration? I noted no queues in the supermarkets.

The Covid-19 Omicron variant has muted celebrations. The good news is that the variant might not as devastating as initially thought. 

Let’s also accept that to a large extent, celebrations will depend on one’s age and economic status. The older you are, the more unexciting it is.  

But we try to be innovative. The elderly often invite the younger generation who balance out the “boredom.” They invite their children and grandchildren who still have a residue of Christmas excitement.  

Holidays like Christmas bring out inequality in us. What do we buy and where do we buy it? Who do we share with it?