PSYCHOLOGY
Sheldon H. White
"For the purposes of the Christmas holiday, people maintain a repertoire of merry-making behavior designed to go off when certain stimult are released, the most notable of which are:
* the combination of red and green colors
* a preponderance of mistletoe
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* fat men dressed in red and white
* strange songs about reindeer
"When released into the cultural ear, these stimuli initiate festive tendencies which manifest themselves in actions such as giggling, excessive drinking, and sleeping (which comes about because of the dormative principle). Occasionally these stimuli cause a Scrooge-like behavior which reflects an excessive depressed state.