Schnapps, whipping and sacks: How Christmas traditions evolved around the world

  Christmas has become a cultural event, associated with the giving of gifts and lavish meals with friends and family.

  But the traditional understanding of Christmas is that it’s a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus.

  The idea of giving gifts may be traced to the Bible, in which the infant Jesus was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh by the Three Wise Men, named in apocryphal texts as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.