Tis the season for some muddled thoughts about, well, the season.

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In the late 1700s when Jesuit priests and other missionaries arrived on the west coast of North America, they were confronted by the native tradition of the potlatch.

A practice common among many native groups here, the potlatch involved gathering together for feasting, dancing and passing out gifts to members of the clan.

(Relax anthropology geeks - I understand there's much more involved, but I'm trying to keep things simple.)

Naturally, such unreciprocated gifting was shocking to the materialistic Europeans, who saw the event as an extravagant waste of resources that could only lead to economic ruin for the native people.

Determined to save the local people from themselves and failing to grasp the concept of status being linked to gift giving, these Christian ambassadors tried to ban the practice.

Aided by sympathetic colonial government, European missionaries tried to squash all aspects of native culture as heathen and the centre of their wrath was the potlatch.

Fast forward a couple of centuries and this month people all over British Columbia are gearing up for another festive season that includes the gathering of the clan, feasting, revelry and gift giving.

Like it or not, Christmas celebrations have turned into a modern version of the potlatch - only much, much shallower. So let's sit down, carve the hypocrisy and pass the pot of delicious irony before it gets cold.

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One of the cool things about this time of the year is seeing small children react when they spot Santa Claus at assorted parades, shops or parties.

There may be magic in Frosty the Snowman's felt hat, but he's got nothing on the spell cast upon children by an elderly guy wearing a red velvet suit and fake beard ringing sleigh bells.

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There are three things you can count on every year - turning the clocks forward one hour in the spring, turning them back an hour in the fall, and Christians getting upset about a perception that people from other cultures are hijacking the spirit of Christmas and watering it down by removing religion from the holiday.

The Christmas tradition, as most people of European descent know it, is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ - even though he was not born on Dec.

25, but most likely some time in the spring given the references to shepherds and an official census at the time.

Over the centuries, the tradition evolved and the celebration moved closer to the winter solstice where it absorbed aspects of other groups, many of which were around long before Jesus.

Do you enjoy caroling, decorating the Christmas tree, kissing under the mistletoe, hanging a holly wreath on your door or watching the burning Yule log on television? All of those traditions have non-Christian origins that have since been co-opted into the larger Christmas experience.

These are all things that I associate with the season, which I call Christmas. It's what I grew up with and what I look forward to each December.

I don't agree with the politically correct zealots who want to remove all Christian references to the holiday, but I do respect whatever it is they want to celebrate this time of year.

If you don't come from my Anglo cultural background, you may be celebrating something else this time of year - Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus, a day off with pay, whatever - I respect and encourage that too. I hope it's a happy one and you enjoy your time with your family.

That, to me, is the spirit of the season.

WHAT THE INTERNET TAUGHT ME THIS WEEK

According to researchers from the University of Barcelona, drinking wine may protect against sunburn.

Apparently grapes contain a compound called a flavonoid that helps protect human skin from the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation.

As thousands of Canadians are about to discover in the next couple of months, tequila does not contain these flavonoids.

Michael Booth can be reached at mbooth@ thenownewspaper.com