You see, since time immemorial, we humans have seemingly always hungered for ritual. It’s a cornerstone feature of nearly all human social existence. It’s woven into our DNA and our social fabric.

And whereas rituals and ceremony in the past may have looked like garlanding a maypole or burying the dead with food, weapons, and wealth for the afterlife, today our particular Fall and Winter holiday rituals may look like some hybrid of flying home for a turkey dinner, late night services at Church, and Christmas morning present opening.