Black FridayThe day after US Thanksgiving, when lots of shops offer discounts on goods for Christmas shopping. is upon us. The day when hordes of hungry shoppers storm into shops, hunting for pre-Christmas bargains. Phones, computers, consoles, televisions, toys, clothes: everything is up for grabs.

Much of it will end up under the tree, to be seized on Christmas Day. The best ones will be used, then exhausted, then eventually tossed into landfill, while unwanted ones will sit in a cupboard gathering dust.

In many countries, buying Christmas gifts has become the norm. Yet present-giving exposes society's inequalities. Some parents can simply fill their baskets. Others have to save all year to please their children. 

Some Christians think that today's commercialised celebration has strayed far from true Christmas spirit, that capitalismA form of economy characterised by private property and competition between companies. has made us obsessed with novelty. Shopping briefly satisfies us, but we always want more.

Writer Nell Frizzell stopped giving gifts to other adults and made Christmas a time for family activity. Instead, she says, "we bestow upon each other the treats of time".

Many people still enjoy a gift-filled Christmas and believe that if we stopped buying presents, a huge number of jobs would be lost as shops and suppliers might close down.

Would Christmas be better without presents?

Yes! Christmas turns children into greedy monsters, desperate to have the best presents. And it turns the Earth into a junkyard.

No! Nothing beats the sensation of seeing someone smile over a present you give them.