McDonald’s marketing team uses a behavioural study report to build its marketing strategy. The report says that key behaviours are formed from the age of 3-10. The place and activities which kids enjoy at this stage will form their behavioural pattern in youth.
This kid when grown up is more likely to go back to these activities and places in nostalgia and in turn take their kids for it. So kids associating a happy experience with something is crucial to capture next gen market share. Guess who else uses the same approach? Xtianity!
McDonald used multigenerational studies to arrive at its strategy. Hence happy meal, the clown mascot, the toy with happy meal, discounted birthday celebrations. At one time they offered accompanying kid free meal and hosted school kids for free or negligible amount.
Association of Christmas with happy times, holidays from school, loads of gifts, cakes and cookies, party/celebrations, Santa etc is the same experience that Xtianity aims to capture the kids mind at a tender age. With most schools (Convents & Public alike) perpetuating it.
These kids grow up to associate this time as special and fun. On the opposite hand - Diwali is made to be without fun by the same lobby (no crackers for kids) only pooja path & diyas, Holi is made colourless (again without fun for kid). Other festivals are sidelined too.
Every festival usually has 2 parts - the spiritual /religious part for adults and to initiate kids whereas the fun part to make kids look forward to it (new clothes, crackers, color play, kanjake/ garba during Navratri, fun and fetes during Ganesh Chaturthi/Durga puja).
The ‘liberals’ can’t directly attack the spiritual part as adults would call out their hypocrisy, so in name of environment etc, they call out the fun part, knowing very well that without the fun part, the spiritual part won’t survive next generation. Its a well oiled assault.
The kids who don’t grow up having happy experiences of these festivals will soon abandon them. Already happening- so many choose to use these vacations to holiday abroad. Whereas the happy times with festivals like Xmas will create these happy associations for these kids.
I studied in a Christian school as against my closest cousins & I could see how jealous they’d feel seeing me dressed up for Christmas at school, coming back with Secret Santa gifts. Today all schools (even non-Xtians) celebrate Xmas more than other Indian festivals.
Some celebrate Easter and Halloween too. Am I against celebrations?? Noooo, really not. It’s good to celebrate & enjoy whatever maybe the reason but my only worry is are is as parents ensuring we make Diwali, Holi, Rakhis etc. equally fun for our kids? We don’t kill their joy.
We ensure, our kids grow up with really happy associations of Indian festivals? Loads of gifts, cracker , colour fun etc in these festivals for our kids to help them create these happy associations growing up? My parents did. Are we doing it enough to combat this onslaught?
When our kids visit churches as part of their school celebrations for Xmas, do we coax them to celebrate Indian festivals enough and say go for a temple visit, instead of tokenism in name of painting diyas. When they sing carols, are they allowed to sing aartis?
In my convent, when I was in 7th...one conscious parent got all parents together and a set of over 200 parents went to school administration to talk. The school did buckle (it was all polite conversation exerting on true secularism etc). After that we had Gayatri Mantra and Om Jai Jagdish as part of school assembly along with other prayers. They couldn’t take us to temple, but it meant the church visits were stopped (or made voluntary for older kids).
Sometimes we don’t realise the subconscious aculturisation & it’s effects on next generation.
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