We used to have a family tradition where each member paid in to a pool, according to what they could COMFORTABLY afford.
Then, from this pool, each family member received ONE present that they really appreciated, rather than a load of tat.
Now, with the family dispersed around the world, or dead, we do not even do that.

Hi Petter....many years back when my kids were little, I suggested a small, ($10-20) light hearted gift exchange with my family. I Got everything from a big shrug to NO WAY....Yet we still managed to have it one time.
My wife and I after that decided that it wasn't worth the effort to try and inject that little bit of fun into this family get together.
Too Much teeth pulling ( At the same time my family wouldn't hesitate to get my kids the dumbest presents ever....even when they were very young they'd look at the presents like WTF is this?!? . )

Anyway a few XMas's after those battles were fought my Mom suggested....a Gift Exchange !
No Thanks Mom. I'm done here !

They were. Since agricultural work was not possible it was their annual holiday!

We Three Kings is not Pagan. Again, please don't tell me about the Pagans as I'm already aware. Christ-Mas has been Xtian since Queen Vicky.

@rainmanjr Didn't say it was.
Wasn't going to. Didn't even think of it.
And, before that.

Not even sure what possessed you to comment in the first place.

@KKGator Because that's what I do. Block me if not interested in my comments. I have no idea what someone might say, or might not, and I'm addressing the wide audience (not you in particular).

Investigate "Yuletide", the Viking solstice season between the earliest sunset and the latest sunrise. (Solstice to epiphany)

@Petter Yes, good idea. Btw, I reserve the right to burn a "yule" log in my fireplace if I want. However, it would get way too hot in our little house here in Florida. So we just keep our birch "yule" logs year after year. They look nice and yuley, but they don't smell up the house.

@mischl A poem I wrote a while back on the true reason for Epiphany.

[allpoetry.com]

@Petter Well done, although some of it's over my head. I also enjoyed the comments.

@Petter Isn't Epiphany a religious thing? @mischl, I also celebrate Winter Solstice because it's science. I do not celebrate Christ-Mas, which is religious.

@rainmanjr For many years now, I've been using both the Summer and the Winter Solstice as an excuse to have a party. Hey, why not? Also, for many years I've been deliberately misusing the word "epiphany" to mean a sudden, new realization about something. It seems no matter how old I get and how smart I think I am, I still have an epiphany about something now and then.

@mischl True. I like the "Ah-ha moment" or "Eureka moments."

@rainmanjr epiphany is what the god botherers decided to call this date and invented the story of the 3 wise men to justify it.
In fact it is the date (in the Northern hemisphere) when the sun RISES at its LATEST time. The solstice marks the date on which the daylight is shortest.

@rainmanjr, @mischl So use the night of January 5th for a final blowout party, ending at sunrise on January 6th, with a hearty breakfast!

My point is that non-Xtians should not celebrate Xtian holidays and make them a national observance.

To me it is a time of introspection and family. The jollity, for me, comes as we celebrate the new year.

@Petter it’s the other way round for me…I visit the family in England for Xmas, but spend New Year on my own, reflecting on the old and projecting for the new on my lonesome! As a Scot…I have spent a previous lifetimes of Hogmanays first footing and partying, and am now happy to stay at home and bring in the new year quietly on my own.

Are you that desperate for a holiday? I'll bet you support Easter, too, on grounds that it's a rabbit, not Jesus.

@rainmanjr I’m retired I don’t need an excuse for a holiday as I stopped going out to work some years ago, However, my son and grandchildren will be looking forward to having a festive break and I’m looking forward to travelling to England to have fun with them. Easter I spent at home…no Easter celebrations, unless you count eating hot cross buns and chocolate Easter eggs!

@Marionville Any nod to the holiday is a nod for Xtians. They are unable to separate liking candy from liking Jesus. Try a Snickers bar, instead. Yes, there is a war against this blasphemous holiday (see The Puritans) and it should be fought with greater attention to killing the fat man and his alter-ego (god). Non Xtians should get their own holiday for gluttonous consumptions.

@rainmanjr What utter nonsense…I live in the U.K. and in my experience very few people here even think about it being anything to do with Jesus…even the cards they send have stopped mentioning Xmas…reading “Seasons Greetings”….and very few people I know ever darken the door of a church during the “festive season”…as it’s called now, never mind attend a service to worship. This is no longer a Xtian holiday it’s a non-denominational public holiday which everyone celebrates from all religions and none. In fact you could say the Pagans have reclaimed the holiday again, by everyone enjoying the merriment and celebrations of the Yuletide of our Viking and Celtic ancestors of yore, long before Xtianity was brought to our shores and misappropriated by it’s followers!

@Marionville Sure. And 45 isn't a criminal, just misunderstood.

I really love Christmas...the season still holds a nice warm feeling for me. Plus I get stuff. LOL Actually I love getting things for my wife (although we get each other things all year round for no particular reason.

@rainmanjr Not sure you understand anything about the U.K. and how irrelevant churches and religion have become here…

@Marionville It's still a religious holiday but we can't make women stop shopping. Not even for a day.

@rainmanjr Here in the U.K. it’s the one day of the year that is a universal holiday…there are NO shops open on Xmas day. So in that respect they have actually succeeded in making women (and men) stop shopping …on that one day! Muslim and Jewish shops…and any other denomination too…do shut on this one day of the year.

@Marionville Oh, for Christ's sake! I'm not making fun but you're forgetting about all the shopping for that day. I'm not in The U.K., and really only care about my nation (States Of America) because it affects me, and here it's a complete BS excuse to kiss Jesus' ass.

Whatever, since it was during a Roman census, and they were held in Spring when travel was easier than in winter, Christ would have to have been born around Easter.
Maybe his dates of birth and death should be swapped!

@Petter Maybe non-Xtians should just stop "celebrating" the divine birth, death, and resurrection all together? That would be a good idea, IMO.

@rainmanjr That is akin to "cutting off your nose to spite your face".
Why should I abandon my enjoyment of the viking Yuletide season in protest at the christians also celebrating it?
You'll be railing against dancing around the Maypole next.

@Petter There will be no dancing. Not while I'm King. Christ-Mas is not a Maypole. It is the second most important holiday for Xtians.

@Petter April 5th is a likely date but it doesn't matter when they celebrate it. The point is that Christ-Mas is that day.

@rainmanjr You obviously do not know the origins of dancing around the Maypole. Look it up.

@Petter Few do it, these daze, so I don't care. Christ-Mas is a big deal that actually affects me.

But they are still Xtian in origin and intent.

@rainmanjr They are NOT christian in origin. From where do you get your warped views? Maybe you are a MAGA man?
Many of these festivals hark back to ancient Egyptian deities, like Sol, the sun god.
The study of mythology is a fascinating subject that you would probably enjoy - eventually.

@Petter Oh Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night are not about Egyptian deities, though I'd be against those too. I've studied it and don't find mythology, especially mythology that wants to perform a coup against democracy, all that fun.