Christmas Gift Giving

The giving of gifts at Christmas time is attributed to two reasons. The first being the birth of Jesus when the Three Wise Men brought gifts to the infant on his birth. The second is attributed to St. Nicholas who gave gifts to children and has been immortalized as the patron saint of the children and is known by various names in all parts of the world. Here in the United States, we call him Santa Claus.

The real meaning of Christmas gift-giving is to help those who are less fortunate than we are. Although gift-giving is more visible during the Christmas season, many people give all-year long.

During the Christmas season for family and friends, we purchase or make special items and wrap them in beautiful papers. We decorate the packages with a bow or ribbon and put name tags on each one. We put them under the Christmas tree or we distribute them. We give gifts to friends at work and at church.

Christmas gift-giving is focused more on children. The giving of Christmas gifts as we practice it today started in the 19th century. In 1841 a store in Philadelphia had a large life-size model of Santa Claus in its store. Newspapers also carried advertising sections for Christmas holiday shopping. Children up with their parents to see this model of Santa Claus. This revitalized the Christmas tradition.

Santa Claus as a popular figure for Christmas provided retail stores with a ready-made advertising medium to get people to visit their stores. When they introduced a live Santa Claus that children could see and touch, it created the focus for Christmas gift-giving: children. The children tell Santa what they want for Christmas with the parents listening. They can then find the product in the store and purchase it. What a boom to sales!

In families where there are children, the children get the most gifts at Christmas. These are usually age-appropriate toys. For older children, pre-teens and teens, electronic gifts and gadgets enjoy popularity.

There are by far more gifts for adults which range from chocolates to clothing and gadgets. There are gifts for every lifestyle and hobby.

The true meaning of Christmas is the event which started it, the birth of the baby Jesus. Christmas Day is the celebration of this event. We should not forget wheat his birth means for mankind. In that vein, we must remember that there are pe0ple who are not as fortunate as we are and give them gifts. The gift can be a toy for a child that we drop off at various collection points in our community. It can be a gift of food that we also drop off at collection points. In some communities, Boy Scouts collect food around Thanksgiving to give to families.

Volunteering to serve a meal at a homeless shelter is another means of giving. Visiting the children's ward at a local hospital on Christmas Day and delivering a gift of a toy or a story book to a patient is a way to bring Christmas cheer to a child.

It does not matter if the gift you give is for a family member or for someone less fortunate than you are, it is the thought and the spirit through which you give it that counts.