WHY DO WE GIVE GIFTS AT CHRISTMAS?

By Andrew Hann

Giving and receiving gifts at Christmas is one of the joys of the festive season. It’s a
particularly exciting time for children. Most of us can remember the excitement and
anticipation of coming downstairs early on Christmas morning to find stockings stuffed with
Christmas treats and a pile of colourfully wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree.

But why do we engage in this annual tradition, and how has the custom of gift-giving
changed over the years? In this article our Properties Historian Andrew Hann takes a closer
look at one of our favourite festive traditions.

The hustle and bustle of the season sometimes obscures the reasons for the tradition of
giving gifts at Christmas. It is, however, a tradition grounded in history. The custom also
exemplifies a human need to express thanks and affection.

Why Do We Give Gifts at Christmas?

Christmas is a traditional time for giving presents. There are personal reasons behind
why people give Christmas presents. The motivations vary by the individual, but there are some
common themes.

Religious Context
The nativity story has a significant influence on the tradition of Christmas gift-
giving. Christians cite the Three Wise Men, or Magi, as the Biblical context for giving presents
during the Christmas season. The Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Baby
Jesus in the manger.

Imitating the Three Wise Men

These precious items showed the respect and reverence the Wise Men had for the Son
of God. Christians likewise bestow presents on family members, friends and the needy as a way
of remembering the Three Wise Men honouring of the Christ Child. A modern interpretation of
the custom is the recognition that Christmas is Jesus' birthday. Since giving material birthday
presents to Him is not possible, instead people give gifts to each other in celebration of the day.
Love and Affection
Christmas presents are a time to surprise and delight those we love. People enjoy
finding that perfect gift. Once wrapped and delivered, the giver watches the recipient's happy
face as he or she unwraps it.

Magic of Christmas Nostalgia

There is also something special about children's anticipation and hope during this time
of year. Little hands can barely stay away from the wrapped presents under the tree. Adults
reflect back to their own childhood Christmases with nostalgia and fondness.

Business Promotion
Businesses use this time of year for promotion and advertising. Many firms will send
presents to valued clients to thank them for their business. Gift giving is also a way to advertise
the company and promote positive public relations.

Thank You Gifts

Many people use the Christmas season as a way to say thank you to individuals for their
services and efforts throughout the year. People give these gifts to a wide variety of people
including:
 Teachers  Newspaper delivery people
 Postmen  Domestic workers
 Doormen

Businesses also give gifts to employees to express appreciation for the work during the
previous year. Sometimes these presents are in the form of money, like a Christmas bonus;
other times they are in the form of gift certificates.

Historic Gift Giving Traditions

The custom of giving presents during the middle of winter dates back long before the
birth of Jesus. Many early cultures, such as the Romans and the Norse, had winter solstice
festivals that included gift giving.

Saturnalia December Celebration

The Roman pagan god of agriculture, Saturn, was celebrated during the winter solstice.
Saturnalia was celebrated on December 17. However, some time during the Ancient Roman
Republic (133-31 BC), Saturnalia became a bigger celebration. Starting on December 17, the
citizens celebrated the entire week. Saturnalia was festive with all kinds of events. Some
celebratory practices included giving gifts and sacrifices to Saturn.
Saturnalia and the Exchanging of Gifts
According to History.com, Saturnalia was a rowdy week that also included the
exchanging of pottery figurines, Signillaria, described as symbols of human sacrifice once
practiced as part of past pagan celebrations.

Adoption of Gift Giving for Christmas

This tradition of celebration and gift giving was one of the many customs adopted by
Christianity as a way to merge these cultures into the Christian religion. The custom of gift
giving at Christmas was a natural adoption of these and other seasonal customs, such as
ceremonial lighting of candles, songs of celebration, and holding grand feasts.

Various Christmas Gift Giving Traditions

The Christmas season is a traditional time for giving presents. Not everyone bestows
gifts the same way. Various European cultural customs were incorporated into Christmas
celebrations. The one thing these celebrations have in common is a story of the gift giver.

St. Nicholas
St Nicholas is the most prominent figure in many European gift giving practices. St.
Nicholas morphed into Father Christmas and later in America into the iconic figure Santa Claus.

Christkind
Much the same way American children write letters to Santa Claus, in the German
Culture, children in Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Liechtenstein send
letters asking for gifts to Christkind (also spelled Christkindl), a young girl believed to have
Christ-like qualities. However, most people believe the gifts are delivered on Christmas Eve by
Father Christmas.

La Befana
Christmas in Italy evolves around La Befana, a type of Santa Clausan except she is an old
woman. Some stories cast her as a witch with a cleaning penchant who rides a broom and
comes down chimneys with gifts for children on Epiphany (Twelfth Night). She's also reputed to
clean the floors before she flies off.

Story Behind La Befana

Encyclopedia Britannica says that La Befana was to accompany the Three Wise Men to
Bethlehem, but claimed she was too busy to go. She promised to re-join them when they
returned, but the story claims the Three Wise Men journeyed home via a different route. La
Befana spent the rest of life searching for them. In other versions of this story, she changed her
mind and attempted to catch up with the caravan and bestow gifts to children since she wasn't
able to give one to the Christ child.
Festival of Three Kings
Tourist Guide Barcelona notes the tradition of gift giving comes from the Feast of the
Three Kings or Feast of Epiphany. Italian children write letters to the Three Kings much the
same way American children write to Santa Claus. On January 5, the Three Kings arrive and give
children candy. That night children leave their shoes near a window (similar to Christmas
stocking traditions) to be filled with the gifts they requested. There's always the risk of receiving
a lump of coal if they've been bad. Some Italian families have also adopted the western
Christmas tradition of a Christmas tree and gifts from Santa Claus.

Why Presents are Placed Under the Tree

The original Christmas ornaments were gifts of candy, pastries, cookies, apples, and
other small presents. Stockings were filled with gifts. Over time, the stockings remained, but
permanent ornaments replaced the edible ones. As the tradition grew, so did the types and
sizes of gifts. In keeping with the original tradition of gifts on the tree, the gifts too large for
stockings found their way under the tree and the edible treats on the tree migrated to the
Christmas stockings.

Charitable Donations
Another common gift giving custom is to donate to charities. In keeping with the
Christian ethic of helping those in need, donors give money or donate items, such as food and
clothing. Christmas donations are a significant part of many non-profits yearly fundraising
budgets.

The Many Reasons Why We Give Presents at Christmas

While the reasons for giving presents vary, this custom has made the Christmas season
full of surprises and joy. The tradition of gift giving at Christmas is centuries old, and reminds
people of Christ's magical birth in a stable so long ago.

***

Saturnalia: The First Gift-Giving Festival

The real tradition of December gift-giving comes from an ancient Roman festival
called Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a winter-solstice festival that celebrated the end of the
agricultural year and made the cold, somewhat boring winter season more enjoyable for
everyone. Saturnalia was a week-long festival that lasted from December 17-23. Common
Saturnalia traditions included game-playing, hosting a large feast, and giving gifts.
 During Saturnalia, all social order was suspended, meaning that slaves, lower-class
citizens, and elite citizens ate together at the same tables and played games together. Like in
the modern-day, all business was suspended during Saturnalia, giving everyone a week-long
vacation from work. The general spirit of Saturnalia was one of freedom and liberation from
social roles, which made it an exciting holiday for the whole of Rome.

The gift-giving aspect of Saturnalia was much like the Christmas traditions of the
modern-day. However, during Saturnalia, most of the gifts that people exchanged were
between adults. It was common to get presents such as books, small statues, clothes, and
fancy foods during Saturnalia, and each gift was signed with a personal note or poem from
the gift-giver.

These gifts were supposed to bring a good harvest to the receiver the next year, and
they strengthened business and political connections between the giver and receiver.
Saturnalia gifts were a way to reinforce or destroy friendships and business connections in
ancient Rome. If someone got you a gift, but you did not have a present for them, you could
easily make an enemy.

Therefore, the number of gifts that an elite Roman man had to give out every year
was staggering. Every friend, wife of a friend, business client, and family member received a
gift during Saturnalia.

Many other Christmas-time traditions come from Saturnalia, including the ritualized
greeting “Merry Christmas,” decoration with evergreen trees, and wassailing at night by
candlelight.

***

The Revival of Christmas in America

For a long time, Christmas was banned in America. All of the different people who
migrated to America still brought their solstice traditions with them, though, and celebrated
in secret. However, by the time the early 1800s came around, many famous authors brought
back the tradition of celebrating Christmas with their writing.

In 1809, Washington Irving wrote Knickerbocker’s History of New York, in which St.
Nick flies above the city in a magical wagon, delivering presents to all of the good children.
This story brought Santa back out into the public, and slowly, people started celebrating
Christmas out in the open.

In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote a story for his children that would bring back
the Christmas spirit to everyone. He would call his story “The Night Before Christmas,” and in
it, Santa Claus is a small, elf-like character who was initially illustrated as a little man, small
enough to squeeze down the tightest chimney to deliver presents.

Over time, Santa Clause’s depictions evolved into the human form that we can see
everywhere at Christmas time nowadays.