Bengaluru : Christmas for many people begins with the Pope’s speech from Vatican. And it was no different this year too. Among many other relevant things that he said, one thing in particular touched my core. Pope Francis said, “Christmas has been taken hostage by dazzling materialism that puts God in the shadows and blinds many to the needs of the hungry, the migrants and the war-weary.”

Francis, leading the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas for the fourth time since his election in 2013, said, “a world often obsessed with gifts, feasting and self-centredness needs more humility.”

This has come at a time when material comforts are paramount and celebrating special occasions with ‘things’ is an important part of the festival package. Do festivals lose their significance because of commercialisation?

“Yes, before globalisation, festivals were celebrated in its true spirit. A festival would mean lights, colours, sweets, sitting with the family at a puja, even church hymns and Christmas carols. But now, when someone mentions Diwali, I think of the latest gadget my mother promised to buy me. Christmas makes me think of the wrapped boxes sitting under the miniature tree or cool new products on TV which are a “must have” for the season. Commercialisation has changed the way we look at anything in today’s world,” says Preeti Roy, an insurance officer.

Festivals are now marketed in such a way that, the essence of it, which is essentially intangible becomes tangible. “Commercialisation has taken the soul out of festivals. Festivals were meant to be free non-profit community based events based on anti-corporate values, but by erecting fences and tagging festival goers, the whole experience has become one to create more consumers at a commercial event,” says Ratikanta Bhattacharya, Hindu priest.