num_pages: 150
description: Picture the scene: Aunt Gertrude has just given you the most appalling Christmas tie, complete with snow-flecked kittens in a bowler hat. Do you smile, nod, and confine it to the bottom drawer? Or do you tell the truth and spare yourself future ties from hell?Kant would say that we must, at all costs, tell the truth - whilst Mill would insist that we should think of the consequences (particularly if Aunt Gertrude is slightly unhinged).The Xmas Files is a philosophical meander though the myths and rituals of Christmas today, asking such important questions as does Santa exist? What's wrong with Christmas kitsch? Is it all just a commercial racket? What was Augustine's attitude to 'peace on earth' and what would David Hume have to say about the virgin birth?For underneath all the festive fun, the way we celebrate Christmas does raise serious questions about who we are as a society - about the beliefs that sustain us, and the ways in which we still value ritual and tradition as a means of coming together.
language: English
title: The Xmas Files: The Philosophy of Christmas
titlecomplete: The Xmas Files: The Philosophy of Christmas
genres: Nonfiction, Christmas, Philosophy
ratings_count: 51
publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson - The Orion Publishing Group Ltd