🎁 Unwrapping Christmas Presents: The True (and Surprisingly Wild) Story Behind a Tradition We Thought We Knew

We think we understand Christmas presents.

We picture them neatly wrapped under the tree, a universal ritual as old as Santa himself — comforting, timeless, unquestioned.

Except… it isn’t.

Not in France, and not historically anywhere else either.

In this 10,000-word historical deep dive, French writer Pierre unpacks the astonishing, often hilarious, and entirely real story of how Christmas gifts evolved from symbolic offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh… to a modern avalanche of toys, department-store marketing, stressed parents, and unopened boxes resold online on December 26.

From the humble orange placed inside a wooden shoe to the explosive rise of mass-market gifting after World War II, this investigation traces the winding path of a tradition that quietly reinvented itself century after century — until it became the consumer ritual we all participate in today, often without asking why.

Because behind today’s cosy piles of presents lies a tale of religion, folklore, industrialisation, social change, marketing genius… and the slow but unstoppable rise of the child as the emotional centre of Christmas.

🎄 Inside this cultural deep dive:

– The surprising religious origins of the very first Christmas gifts — and why their meaning has nothing to do with “being good”

– How medieval Europeans turned New Year’s étrennes into a structured social obligation

– Why French families used to place a single shoe by the fire — and what ended that tradition

– The dozens of regional gift-bringers who ruled France long before Santa even existed

– How department stores weaponised wonder with animated Christmas windows

– Why wrapping paper transformed the entire psychology of giving

– How post-war France, the baby-boom, and American cultural influence created the modern Christmas shopping frenzy

– What today’s gift-giving reveals about family, society, and our uneasy relationship with abundance

– And why 11% of French people resell their presents on December 26 (yes, really)

More than a festive curiosity, this is a story about how traditions are made, why they change, and what they say about us.

📬 Originally published on Substack and now available as a beautifully formatted PDF

Buy it today for just £3 (approx. $4 USD) and enjoy a witty, eye-opening journey through the strange and fascinating history behind one of the world’s most beloved — and most misunderstood — Christmas rituals.

A perfect read for lovers of history, culture, France… or simply anyone who has ever wondered, while drowning in wrapping paper:

“How on earth did we end up here?”