Tis’ the Season for Gifts!
The tradition of gift giving has a history in both celebration and building bonds between communities. We know that as far back as the Neolithic period, during the time of the winter solstice on the 21st or 22nd of December, Stonehenge was a site for feasting and gift exchanging to mark the end of the year and the start of the next. The Romans too were prolific well wishers during the period of the New Year, handing out sprigs of their sacred plant mistletoe to bless people with good fortune and later gifts referred to ‘strenae’ to honour the goddess...