Christmas presents – Who are they from, Baby Jesus or Father Christmas?

Traditions change, even with something as basic as Christmas presents. Austria is predominantly Catholic, so its children get theirs from Baby Jesus. In many Protestant countries, Father Christmas comes down the chimney with them. But where did this division of labour in the Christmas gift system originate, and how traditional is the territorial allocation in reality?

Christmas Presents traces a tortuous path through European cultural history, on the trail of a phenomenon whose religious roots are scarcely discernible any more.