# What are the gift giving holidays in non-Christian cultures and religions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008 "2012-12-14T07:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/22 "2019-10-08T19:05:49Z")
Interesting how many of these seem to cluster around astronomical features: Winter Solstice (~Dec 22): Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years. Epiphany, Hindu Dhanu Sankranti, Buddhist Bodhi Day Spring Equinox (~Mar 20): Easter, Passover, Putim. Hindi New Year, Buddhist Avalokitesvara’s Birthday Summer Solstice (~ June 22): Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Independence Day, Islam Eid al-Fitr, Hindu Ratha Yatra, Buddhist Birth of Dalai Lama Fall Equinox (~Sept 21): Harvest Festivals, Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), Hindu Vishwakarma Puja ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/23 "2019-10-08T19:27:48Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > Interesting how many of these seem to cluster around astronomical features: > > Winter Solstice (~Dec 22): Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years. Epiphany, Hindu Dhanu Sankranti, Buddhist Bodhi Day > Spring Equinox (~Mar 20): Easter, Passover, Putim. Hindi New Year, Buddhist Avalokitesvara’s Birthday > Summer Solstice (~ June 22): Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Independence Day, Islam Eid al-Fitr, Hindu Ratha Yatra, Buddhist Birth of Dalai Lama > Fall Equinox (~Sept 21): Harvest Festivals, Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), Hindu Vishwakarma Puja The Eid al-Fitr isn’t exclusively near the summer solstice. It’s different every year, as the Islamic calendar is lunar. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/24 "2019-10-08T19:29:02Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > Interesting how many of these seem to cluster around astronomical features: I thought they clustered around harvest times or new crop planting time. Maybe they are both correlated. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/25 "2019-10-08T20:39:08Z")
[Moderating] This thread was not bumped by **Nava** , but by a spammer. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/26 "2019-10-09T01:15:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sooo… we’re now firmly on the “Catholics and Orthodox aren’t Christian” camp? Or are we now using “Christian” to mean “American”? Neither. I think the point is to challenge the assumption in the OP that Christmas is the definitive gift-giving holiday for Christians. This is true only for some Chrisitians, or only for some definitions of “Christmas”. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008/27 "2019-10-10T16:46:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > This thread was not bumped by **Nava** , but by a spammer. I don’t see any spam post. ::No gifts for **Nava** :: :eek: …& yours we’ll leave in the cornfield. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-gift-giving-holidays-in-non-christian-cultures-and-religions/644008.md?page=1)