Good comment Kate and Steve,
I think that consumerism and drunkenness, etc., are also worse than the pagan source of Saturnalia; but perhaps the results of corruption were inevitable due to the breach with Paul’s warning: “And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT) We were told there can be no union; and yet we disobeyed. The church decided to disregard the Bible and establish its own righteousness. This corruption is the fruit of the decision. This corruption is not new to our day, either; it has found new faces of corruption in each successive generation. The 4th century church introduced so many of our current institutional corruptions; but because of “church worship” (rather worship of God), the corruption has been left unchecked and growing.
The pharisees were adept at making the bad look good, and causing the population to go back to sleep and not worry about displeasing God. Their traditions were all they needed! They were the gatekeepers and the security for the old corrupt system. That ‘type’ has always existed. They make corrupt practices and vices appear to be marginal and acceptable. That is part of what christianity is about; the same forces that were at work in the 1st century are still at work today, and they have never stopped. We are tested by the same lures that the apostles, Judas, and the nation were tested by. That is why so much of the NT is parable - it is an archetype for all ages. It is not relevant to the past only; it is still an ongoing battle-ground which separates people into moral class groups. This is the wheat and weeds, the sheep and goats, and the separation of sheep and sheep (Jeremiah). This is why we are born - to be tested and sifted. We all make our own beds; that is the purpose of us being moral free-will agents.
Steve, you PAPIST! 
Things get pretty crazy over here – and it’s none too fun. And Boxing Day? Forgive the American, but what is Boxing Day? 