Tinsel, trimmings, and tensions: Consumer negotiations of a focal Christmas artifact

Ritualistic consumption has been defined as the use of goods, services, and experiences in expressive, dramatic, symbolic, formal, and intense ways, in contexts that are often repeated over time (Rook 1985). Popular consumer rituals include holidays, special occasions, and pilgrimages to what consumers perceive to be sacred sites or events (e.g., heritage locales such as Althorp, the birthplace of Princess Diana, or visits to the Burning Man Festival; Kozinets 2002; Otnes and Maclaran 2007). Scholars consistently demonstrate that consumers find both idiosyncratic and more culturally valorized rituals to be financially, socially, and emotionally significant (Belk 1989; Otnes and Lowrey 2004; Sherry 1983; Wallendorf and Arnould 1991).