The thought still counts… we think.
Christmas is not exactly all about the money, but money has been a huge factor in celebrating the Yuletide season since before Charles Dickens. Materialism, or gift-giving if you prefer that term, has always been part and parcel of Christmas traditions.
Moneysupermarket.com created this somewhat wistful infographic a couple of years back. Except for the iPhone 5 references, it manages to be quite relevant today.
Note the exchange rate for American dollars and and Dr. Who Money in the past few years is approximately $1.56 (USD) to £1.00(GBP):
Source
Whether you believe that the “Christmas gift” has its roots in Biblical tradition – to remind the faithful of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh the Three Wise Men gave the Infant Jesus, or that it developed from the ancient Roman tradition of exchanging sigillaria during the feast of Saturnalia, the idea of the Christmas present and spending are almost inseparable from each other.
As far as more recent history goes, the past 100 years was a landmark era for gifts, and bestselling gifts were truly far more varied than the clay figurines and hunting knives the early Romans and Christians might have exchanged.
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