Whatever else Christmas may stand for (stand for) , one thing is still means is eating (eat). Christmas had traditionally been a time of the year when people have tried to cheer (cheer) themselves up during the cold months of winter. Last year more than 10 million turkeys were bought in Britain alone during the festive season to satisfy (satisfy) the nation’s appetite. Health experts may continue complaining (complain) about all this self-indulgence, but they fail realize (realize) that there is nothing new about celebratory feasting, particularly at this time of year. The Roman Saturnalia, which was supposedly a festival honour (honour) the god of agriculture. Among other things the Saturnalia involved lighting (light) candles and giving (give) gifts. People who had spent the whole year saving (save) money suddenly became extravagant. In addition to exchanging (exchange) gifts this time of year was also on occasion for masters and slaves alike to eat (eat) excessively. At one Saturnalia feast an emperor is reported to spend (spend) the equivalent of 600 on dinner for twelve guests which consisted of twenty courses and lasted all day. So, when mealtime comes round on 25 December there’s no point in having (have) a guilty conscience. In fact the occasional seasonal feast may promote good health and stop year-round overeating (overeat).