Christmas Gift
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A Christmas gift or Christmas present is a gift given in celebration of
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
. Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day itself (December 25) or on the last day of the twelve-day
Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
,
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
(
January 5 Events Pre-1600 *1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1601–1900 *1675 – Battle of Turckh ...
). The practice of giving gifts during Christmastide, according to Christian tradition, is symbolic of the presentation of the gifts by the
Three Wise Men 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...
to the
infant Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...
.


History

Gift-giving A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...
in general is an ancient tradition that came to be associated with the
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
feast of
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
. In
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, gift giving might have occurred near the
winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...
in December which was celebrated during the
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...
holiday. As
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
became increasingly widespread in the Roman lands, the custom of gift-giving occurred on New Year's Day. Around 336 CE, the date December 25 appears to have become established as the day of Jesus's birth, and the tradition of gift-giving was tied to the story of the Biblical Magi giving gifts to
baby Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...
; together with another story, that of
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
, a fourth-century Christian bishop and gift-giver, it slowly became a part of Christmas celebrations in countries such as the United Kingdom; in other
Christian countries A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by ...
, the practice of gift-giving occurs early in Advent, on
Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 December or on 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Ni ...
. Some early Christian rulers, however, interpreted this story as indications that it should be their subjects who should give gifts to their superiors, and insisted on tributes and tithes during that period. This changed around the turn of the millennium following the popularity of the
Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During th ...
story based on the life of another historical person claimed to be a gift-giver,
Saint Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...
. Christmas gift-giving to superiors became less common, and around the time of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, customs of gift-giving to children became increasingly widespread in Europe. The custom spread to the United States in the 19th century. This also coincided with the desire of some elites to reduce the rowdiness of adult Christmas celebrations, which in some places were tied to begging, as "bands of young men, often rowdy, would ''wassail'' from home to home and demand handouts from the gentry". Another related aspect was the growing desire by parents to keep children at home, away from the corrupting influence of the urban streets. Another relatively recent change concerned the time of Christmas gift-giving. For many centuries, gift-giving took place on December 6 around
Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 December or on 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Ni ...
or in early January after
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
. The popularity of this custom grew after the positive reception of the 1823 poem ''
The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'' and the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. By the end of the 19th century, Christmas Eve replaced early December or January dates as the most common date for gift-giving in the
Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
. With the
Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
lasting twelve days according to the liturgical calendars of many Christian Churches, a gift is given for each of the
twelve days of Christmas The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days a ...
tide in some cultures, while in other Christian households, gifts are only given on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
or
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
, the first and last days of the Christmas season, respectively.


Economic impact

The tradition was also embraced by retailers, for whom the weeks and, eventually, the entire month before Christmas became a very profitable period. Around the turn of the 20th century retailers started directing marketing efforts at children in the hopes that they would entice the parents to buy more goods. It can divide the gifts given by parents into involvement in parental Christmas gift giving and giving branded items as gifts. Up to the 1970s, those six weeks before Christmas accounted for 80% of the toy industry's sales. RetailMeNot research found that UK households expect to splurge an average of £473.83 on presents, making far more profligate than European. It was normal to spend as much as £300 per child. Retailers predicted £1.1bn would be spent on toys during Christmastime 2020, with an average of £105 spent on younger children. The relationship between involvement in giving gifts and giving branded items as gifts was investigated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. A composite mean for involvement in gift giving was calculated at 5.81 with a standard deviation of 1.32. A calculated composite mean for involvement in brands as gifts was 1.74 and a standard deviation of 1.09. However, if parents' assuming it was normal for children to receive a lot of gifts, note that we also made a point to shop for other kids for donations. Besides, if parents plan to give no gifts, it is because they don't want children only live in this society of consumption. They will look for other things that bring more joy to the family. In the early 2000s it was estimated that shoppers in the U.S. alone spend over $4 billion each day during the Christmas shopping season, with an average individual spending over $1,000 on gifts. There are concerns that gift-giving during Christmas is too commercial. Seventy percent of respondents to an online survey of 13,576 people in 14 European countries in 2016 said that too much attention is put on spending during the Christmas period, 42% said they felt forced to spend more at Christmas, and 10% borrowed money to be able to afford the gifts. Economist Joel Waldfogel noted that because of the mismatch between what the giftee values the gift and the value paid for by the giver, the gifts lose between one-tenth and one-third of their value; he calls it the "deadweight loss of Christmas". This leads to gifts often being returned, sold, or re-gifted. In the 2016 European online survey, 15% of respondents were unhappy about their gifts and 10% could not remember what they had received. Twenty-five percent of respondents said they had re-gifted their presents to someone else, 14% sold the items, 10% tried to return them to the store, and 5% returned the gift to the giver. Seniors were more likely to send their unwanted presents to charity, while those aged 25 to 34 "simply threw them away". Gifts that are least likely to be appreciated rely on personal tastes, and include items like perfumes and cosmetics, ornaments, and clothing.


Wrapping

According to researchers from the
University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...
, poorly-wrapped gifts get a preferable reaction because "presents that are neatly wrapped increase a recipient's expectations."


Further reading

* *


See also

*
Christmas gift-bringer A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography ...
*
Christmas Wrapping "Christmas Wrapping" is a Christmas song by the American new wave band the Waitresses. First released on ZE Records' 1981 compilation album '' A Christmas Record,'' it later appeared on the band's 1982 EP '' I Could Rule the World If I Could ...
* St Nicholas Day


References


External links

{{Christmas Giving Gift Gift