Gift-giving, Sharing, and Consumption Holidays

Gift-giving, Sharing, and Consumption Holidays explores the social and symbolic dimensions of giving in consumer culture. In this book, Russell W. Belk dives into the rituals, meanings, and complexities of practices like holiday shopping, charitable giving, and everyday sharing-activities often overlooked in traditional marketing models.

Belk examines how gift-giving creates and maintains relationships, communicates emotions, and reflects cultural values. He explores holidays such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Diwali, revealing how these occasions are shaped by both commercial influence and deep social traditions. The book also challenges the binary of altruism and self-interest in giving, uncovering how sharing and gifting are intertwined with identity, obligation, and reciprocity.

With a rich blend of cultural insight and academic rigor, this book offers a unique perspective on how giving shapes consumption-and vice versa. A valuable resource for scholars in marketing, sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies.

This is one of ten books in the Legend in Consumer Behavior series by Russell W. Belk.