Where dud the tradition of gifts come from? I know about Santa, I know about the feasts, and the yule log, christmas trees and their ornaments and lights.. I'm a bit hazy on the mistletoe, New Years, it makes sense -- thanksgiving I understand and am not down with. (A holidy to celebrate genocide. Just sayin')
So, what's the deal with the gifts? Christmas predates Christ by a long shot, and wasteful spending is not condoned by the Bible so I'm not sure why Christians get down with it.Gifts put a financial strain on a great deal of people, that's kinda counter-intuitive. Domestic violence, alcohol related crimes, and suicides go up. There's a lot of stress that people should be able to avoid.
Easter's the other one. Why the hell are there fertility rituals held on what's supposed to be the most holy day of the year... The day that the Christ re-rose, and announced his godhood.
Easter egg hunts (wicked little fertility hunts for small children especially,) with lots of chocolate (aphrodisiac, feel good endorphine releasing chocolate, and then there's the bunny. WTF!
So, could anyone explain the relatively new gift giving tradition, and take a crack at why pagan fertility symbols are used, and rituals are practiced by children.
And, I'm not downing on anyone I'm curious -- tomorrow I'm going to start getting Christmas stuff out.