It is the morning every shop assistant dreads. 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. Presents will be unwrapped, unsealed, unboxed. The best ones will be used, then exhausted, then eventually tossed into landfill.¹  The unwanted ones will sit in a cupboard gathering dust.²

Christmas began as a religious holiday. But it has gradually transformed into a secularA word used to describe something that is not connected with the religious or spiritual sphere. one focused around the idea of giving and receiving presents. 

In many countries, buying Christmas gifts has become obligatory. The New York Times has even published a list "for people who have everything" from a $47 (£37) can of crisps to an electronic "neck fan". 

Yet some people have proudly broken with the trend. Writer Nell Frizzell wondered why adults feel the need to reward each other with unneeded, unnecessary gifts. She stopped buying presents, except for young children.

Instead, writes Frizzell, "we bestow upon each other the treats of time, saving money, the weekends in the run-up to Christmas at home, sanity, and evenings not clogged with sticky tape and phone calls and online checkouts".

Present-giving exposes society's inequalities. Some parents can simply fill their baskets. Others have to scrimp and save all year to please their children. 

The circle of people we have to honour can be enormous: family, friends, colleagues, neighbours. Personal finance expert Martin Lewis says: "Sometimes the best gift is releasing people from the obligation of buying for you".

Gift-giving has a long history in Christianity, although for centuries it happened on New Year's Day. But some Christians think that today's commercialised celebration has strayed far from its sacred spirit.

According to theologianA person who studies religious beliefs. Eve Poole, capitalismA form of economy characterised by private property and competition between companies. has made us insatiableImpossible to satisfy. and obsessed with novelty. Shopping briefly sates us. But we always want more. And "if we can never be satisfied, the system need never come to an end".

We are filled with desire. ConsumerismSociety's obsession with acquiring consumer goods. exploits this. It makes us want to join an in-group, whether those who wear a certain shoe or own the latest phone. And this makes us buy for ourselves and others, whatever the consequences.

Many people still enjoy a gift-filled Christmas. Presents under the tree have remained popular because they bring joy. 

A YouGov survey of 12 countries found that only 23% in Britain - and 9% in Denmark - felt that Christmas was mainly celebrated "because of pressure from commercial companies".

Besides, Christmas gift-giving is economic adrenalineA hormone made by the body in response to a stressful or threatening situation..³ If we stopped buying presents, a huge number of jobs would be lost. If we stopped buying presents, numerous shops and suppliers might close down.

Freeing ourselves from this cycle will have a cost. But it might also make gift-giving quieter, more thoughtful and more enjoyable.

Would Christmas be better without presents?

Yes: Christmas has gone too far. It causes gift-givers to feel shame and guilt. It turns children into ravenous monsters, desperate to have the best presents. And it turns the Earth into a junkyard.

No: Cheer up! Yes, Christmas inspires a lot of complicated feelings. But nothing beats the sensation you feel when someone smiles over the presents you bought them. It is all worth it just for that.

Or... Some old-fashioned Christians may disagree. But presents are the main point of modern day, secular Christmas. If you take the gifts away, you do not have Christmas anymore, but something else instead.