Christmas gifts: The origin of why we give

There is a reason why we give at Christmas

Everyone knows that Christmas is the season of giving but some may not understand or even care why gifts are bestowed in December. I have heard celebrities say they enjoy exchanging gifts but do not care for the religious connotation of the holiday. Well laugh out loud, the reason gifts are given during the holiday season derived from the Christian origins of the most wonderful time of the year.

Jesus was not born on the 25th day of the 12th month but the date was chosen with a purpose. Christians decided to emphasize the birth of Christ in an attempt to stop what they considered to be the pagan rituals of Winter Solstice that was on December 21. The giving of gifts was a way to emphasize that God gave Jesus to the world and the Wise Men brought gold frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child.

The gift of the Magi

While you may see Nativity scenes with the three kings, and the shepherds together the Bible says in Matthew chapter 2 that the Magi found a young child in a house and that King Herod killed all the boy babies 2 years old and under. There also is no evidence of how many Magi there were and experts say it's highly unlikely that three men traveled alone across the dangerous dessert and there was probably a caravan.

Even though its in print there are people who will take your head off if you mess with their tradition. I wrote about this in a local paper and was told by the editor that I received hate mail. Scholars have taken the Biblical information along with history to indicate that Jesus was at least 2 when the travelers from the East brought their gifts. This is why we have Epiphany on Janaury 6th to celebrate the seperate visit and the three gifts from the Magi who were astronomers/astrologers who studied the sky.

As a young girl I was told that saying Merry Christmas and giving gifts expressed the love of our Heavenly Father and the love we had for one another but there is another reason we give gifts during this season. While we tell our children that Santa is not real when they are older he is based on a real person. Bishop Saint Nicholas who left gifts and money anonymously at the homes of poor children. Nicholas is the reason Santa is called St. Nick and where all the legends came from.

Giving has evolved over the decades

My grandma was born in 1918 and grew up during the Great Depression years. She said that at Christmas they were lucky to have a stocking with an apple or orange and a few nuts inside. My brothers and I always had a lot of toys underneath the tree and we exchanged gifts with about 20 additional family members. No one talked about the orgin of giving gifts as we grew older but I told my children what I had been taught about the origin of giving in December. We exchanged gifts in school, church, on jobs, and with family and friends.

Different people observe December 25th in varied ways and those who are not religious say they enjoy the festive time of year and the spirit of giving without the faith based element but: The faith based element of the birth of Christ is the origin of it all.