Purim did come before St. Patrick's Day, though. And the drinking on Purim came before St. Patrick's Day as well. So, maybe St. Patrick's Day is really the 'Christian Purim' without the costumes. As for the costumes, I'm not a historian, so I don't know if the dressing up was started because of Halloween or if it came about on it's own.

But presents on Chanukah are a direct result of commercialization. Presents were never a part of the holiday, and I know people who don't give gifts on Chanukah because it has nothing to do with the celebration. The only gift giving of any kind that is supposed to take place on Chanukah is giving children candy and other sweets. In fact, the proper custom is to eat things cooked in oil, so donuts are a big thing, along with the potato pancakes.

<sub>Will Eisner's last work - The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
RDCW Profile

"Well, as it happens, I wrote the damned SOP," Illescue half snarled, "and as of now, you can bar those jackals from any part of this facility until Hell's a hockey rink! Is that perfectly clear?!" - Dr. Franz Illescue - Honor Harrington: At All Costs

"I don't know what I'm do, or how I do, I just do." - Alexander Ovechkin</sub>