Ben 10 Toys, the Omnitrix and Other Top Toys in Christmas 2008

It is Christmastime and do we really all know what it is about? Not only that but what about what is fast appearing to be the most important aspect of Christmas and that is the favourite toys for kids at Christmas and more importantly the Ben 10 Toys.

OK, Christmas first and then an explanation about the Ben 10 toys later.

The public holiday that we know nowadays as Christmas day, Christmastide or as has been mentioned before just plain old Christmas, celebrated on the 25th of December every year honours and marks the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Contrary to popular belief, the actual date of Christmas in relation to Christ’s birth actually may be slightly different in that some 1500 years later the known world changed it calendar system from the Julian system to the Gregorian Calendar named after the then Pope of the day, Pope Gregory XVIII.

It could be argued that actually nowadays the holiday is more of a celebration of the god Mammon rather than a celebration of the birth of Christ as the holiday probably has more to do with commercialism and the giving of gifts than anything else. Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population.

As has been mentioned the number of those worldwide celebrating Christmas has grown almost exponentially to appoint where for example, in the USA, it is reckoned that Christmas is celebrated by over 96% of the population. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.

To sum up, Christmas is now big business whether we like it or not and it is one of the facts of modern day life that we are going to have to get used to. So history and tradition aside, where exactly does the tradition of giving presents to one and all originate from?

Originating from Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Père Noël, Joulupukki, Babbo Natale, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost). The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. It took until the 1880’s for the images created by Naast to evolve into the image we all now recognise.

Running alongside the largely Western European tradition of Father Christmas is the Latin American tradition whereby it is supposed that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives these toys to the baby Jesus who in turn actually delivers the gifts to the children’s homes.

This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

So to arguably this years must have toys, the Ben 10 Toys. These are action figures and more form the wildly popular Ben 10 TV Series. With the Omnitrix, Alien Creation Chamber and many action figures from which to chose from, the Ben 10 toys are incredibly popular amongst young boys.

About the Author

Steve Morgan writes regularly on children's issues and if you would like to find out more information about any more about Ben 10 Toys then click here: of the Top Christmas toys for Girls