To: epicure who wrote (57839 ) 12/28/2000 9:21:25 PM From: JF Quinnelly Read Replies (1) | Respond to Snippy, snippy, snippy. You're the one claiming that silence on giving gifts in Colonial America "proves" your contention that gifts weren't given. I merely point out that an argument from silence is a logical fallacy.The Victorian Christmas was of social importance- and much was written in both fiction and non-fiction concerning it. Read the literature of the Colonial times, read BEN FRANKLIN- entirely mute on Christmas. We have original works from this time. I would recommend you read a few of the diaries of the time, original sources put into print- with copies of the originals in the books For instance, Philip Vickers Fithian's December 18, 1773, diary entry about exciting holiday events mentions: "the Balls, the Fox-hunts, the fine entertainments. . ." Williamsburg shopkeepers of the eighteenth century placed ads noting items appropriate as holiday gifts, but New Year's was as likely a time as December 25 for bestowing gifts. Cash tips, little books, and sweets in small quantities were given by masters or parents to dependents, whether slaves, servants, apprentices, or children. It seems to have worked in only one direction: children and others did not give gifts to their superiors.
