Take a look at your social media feeds. Did you notice that Christmas Trees are in full bloom, albeit made of steel and synthetic ferns? This is the time of the year when that full-bearded guy, dressed in red and sporting a gigantic smile is not Baba Ramdev but Santa Claus. But is the Christmas cheer real? Or is it as fake as the stockings lined with cotton wool bought from a vagrant at a street intersection?

Worldwide, Christmas is peak-season for brands and marketers and India is now no different. And the consumers seem to be enthusiastically joining the game. As “Merry Christmas” gifs clog up the Whatsapp-ruled airwaves it’s time to wonder though about the version of Christmas that is being embraced. Is it all about consumption, and not about compassion. Is it about having, rather than giving? Should the focus be on Christmas story, rather than on the stores?

Admittedly, this is hard. Even the West has, sometimes unconsciously, gone this way and it’s been that way for ages. Remember that the universally-accepted jolly, red-clad image of Santa was actually a Coca-Cola creation. So maybe the right question to ask is, what should the responsibility of the brand be? Perhaps, it should be to tap into its own inner consciousness and be the best version of itself that it can be. These are the brands that serve a larger, more impelling Purpose by fulfilling the fundamental needs of their customers. They collaborate to enhance life – and isn’t that the true spirit of Christmas?