X-mas bonus: What's the big deal with them ?

I feel like I am the only person in the world not planning my holidays, shopping sprees, or any other festive season splurge based on bonus cash injected into my all too often depleted bank account.

In my efforts to console and maybe even convince myself that I do not really need the cash, I discovered some interesting details about Christmas bonuses or 13th cheque.At the beginning of the 20th century, employers in the United States awarded their employees Christmas offerings as a special 'thank you' for their hard work during the year past. That offering transformed into a whole new ball game, as a New York Times writer Catherine Rampell explains in her article A History of the Christmas Bonus. "At the turn of the 20th century, US employers began substituting the traditional 19th century Christmas offerings to employers - turkeys, watches, candy or gold coins with a cash bonus.