Das Weihnachtsfest als Brückenschlag

Kellermann, Ingrid; Ono, Fumio

doi:10.1007/978-3-531-94013-7_4

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Austria is the context of this study, and so the prevailing stories that create the myth of Christmas for children were identified as: Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, Christkind(lein), Krampus and the birth of Jesus Christ (Appendix, for example, summaries of these stories). Though there is slight variation between regions (Kriechbaum, 2010), these choices were supported by the literature (Weber-Kellermann, 1978; Vernaleken, 1859; Kriechbaum, 2010; Belk, 1987; Ridenour, 2016; Laing and Frost, 2015). Literature, in particular local stories and legends around the Krampus and other characters (for summaries see Ridenour, 2016), lyrics (Brauer, 2019) and illustrations in both English and German were sought on these myths to undertake the structural analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Children’s consumption culture development through Christmas myths: ethical implications

Kennedy

Waiguny

Lockie³

2021

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Purpose This paper seeks to explore the functions of Christmas mythemes for children’s consumption culture development. In addition, the purpose of this study is to provide an insight on the development of Central European Children into customers and how mythemes are associated with the wishing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Levi-Strauss’ (1955) structural analysis was used to uncover the mythemes of the Christmas story for Austrian children. These mythemes then informed a thematic analysis of 283 Austrian children’s Christmas letters. Campbell’s (1970) functions of myths were used to reflect on the findings. Findings The Christmas mythemes uncovered were found to encourage materialism by linking self-enhancement (good acquirement) with self-transcendent (good behaviour) values. The role of myths to relieve the tension between the incongruent values of collective/other-oriented and materialistic values is expanded upon. Such sanctification of selfish good acquisition is aided by the mythemes related especially to the Christkind and baby Jesus. Instead, marketers should use Christmas mythemes which emphasise family and collective/other-centred values. Originality/value By first uncovering the “mythemes” related to Christmas, the authors contribute to the academic understanding of Christmas, going beyond origin or single myth understandings and acknowledging the multifaceted components of Christmas. The second contribution is in exploring mytheme’s representation in children’s Christmas letters and reflecting on their functions. This differs from previous literature because it looks at one of the main cultural vehicles for Christmas socialisation and its intersection with the mythemes that feed children’s consumption culture formation. Through the authors’ presentation of a conceptual framework that links mytheme functions with proximal processes using a socioecological viewpoint, the authors demonstrate the guidance of mythemes in children’s development. The third contribution is a reflection on the potential ethical implications for children’s formation of their consumer culture based on the functions of the mythemes. Furthermore, the authors add to the existing body of research by investigating a Central European context.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 79%