Christmas Gifts

Why Do We Give Presents on Christmas?

The tradition of giving our friends and family presents on Christmas is indeed a sweet a fun one, but where did it come from? Why do we surprise our loved ones every year with toys, clothes, jewelry, and other gifts that we wrap in paper, tie with bows, and place under a tree that we cut down and put in our houses? The general answer is the story of the Three Wise Men, and the gifts they brought to the newborn Jesus.

The first given from the Three Wise Men was the gift of frankincense, which was a sort of perfume that was applied for worship to God, and therefore was given to his son as an extension of him. The second gift was gold. Because gold was only flaunted and owned by royalty, it was gifted to Jesus as a way of showing that even as a newborn, he would be held as The King of Kings. The last present given to Jesus from the Three Wise Men was myrrh. Myrrh was a fragrant perfume that was, at the time, useful to help the dead smell a bit more pleasant. The myrrh was put on them to help disguise the odor of the bodies, and therefore, symbolized that Jesus would also someday die and leave a physical body behind.

These three gifts were given in the origins of Christmas, all valuable in their pure form and demanding a cost, but they were given as representations, prophecies, and symbols. Just like today, while gifts do cost money, true Christmas gifts show care, sentiment, and thoughtfulness when given to the recipient.

Continuing the Tradition of the Wise Men’s Gifts

While all babies are precious, we don’t exactly bring them gifts of gold and frankincense these days. Instead, the tradition set forth by the Three Wise Men is continued by purchasing gifts for our loved ones, either things they need and can’t afford or things that they might not have thought to buy themselves. For modern parents of newborns, we now by diapers, binkies, bottles, onesies, blankets, and other things that might ease the financial struggle that having a baby can create with all of the expenses. We also buy gifts for our loved ones just for the sake of giving them presents because we care about them and want them to be happy. There is no other feeling like that of watching your friends and family open a gift you carefully shopped for, selected, and purchase specifically for them, and seeing the joyful smiles on their faces. From the big, open-last presents on the bottom of the pile of gifts under the tree, to the small candy bars and candy canes left in stockings hung on the mantel. Speaking of, why do we hang sock-shaped vessels on the fireplace to be filled with small presents?

The Tradition of Small Gifts in Stockings

If you think about it, it is a bit odd that we put small gifts, funny presents, and candy in a sock and hang it on our fireplace. Where did this idea come from? The popular tradition of stockings dates back to 1823, when the poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” included the practice of children leaving their stockings hung on the fireplace, where Santa Claus would come down the chimney and fill up the stockings before carrying on to the next house.

It’s rumored that the original idea came from the legend of the father of three children, whose wife had died as he started to slip into financial struggle. Because he was a proud man, St. Nicholas knew that he would not accept any form of charity, and decided to find another way to help the widowed man. He decided to slip down into the chimney of the man’s home and find a place to leave coins. He saw the three daughters’ stockings hanging to dry on a line by the fire, and filled them with gold coins. He left the money anonymously, and then left as quietly as he came. The daughters found their stockings full of gold in the morning, and would now be able to afford to one day marry and live happily ever after. And so, every year we hang our red and white stockings on the mantel of the fireplace, for Santa Claus to leave us small gifts, candy, and…oranges?

The Strange Tradition of Oranges in Stockings

Although oranges are popular in the scents of Christmas, accompanying apple, cinnamon, cloves, anise, and more, with extra thought, it is strange that many Americans receive oranges in their stockings. Where on earth did this come from? Supposedly, St. Nicholas was known for leaving not just coins of gold in stockings, but big spheres of solid gold. Later in history when fresh fruit was not common and hard to find, oranges were left in the stockings with the same idea of the gold, and the tradition has stuck ever since.

Continuing the Tradition of Christmas Presents in Tough Times

It is amazing that throughout history, even in the deepest, roughest points of financial struggle, people still come together during the Christmas season and skimp to be able to provide presents for the ones they love. On December 10th of 1905, O. Henry wrote a short story about a young couple’s strong desire to buy each other Christmas gifts, even when times were tough financially. They wanted their gifts to surprise one another, so the story explains how they tried to keep their gifts secret. The wife, Della, had only $1.87 on Christmas Eve, and wanted to use it to buy her husband a gift for the next morning.

With expenses too high and income too low, Della and her husband, Jim, only had two things of value in all their possessions — Jim’s gold watch that had been passed down from generation to generation, and Della’s long, luscious hair. She found a merchant to purchase her hair, a man that crafted goods from it. She found him and offered him her long locks, and he gave her twenty dollars for it. For the next two hours, she used her newly gained money and searched for a present for Jim, the day before Christmas. After all her searching, she found a gold chain to accompany her husband’s precious gold watch heirloom. It cost a total of twenty-one dollars, leaving her eighty-seven cents to her name.

She carried the precious chain home, excited to gift it to her husband, but nervous about him seeing her lack of hair. When she arrived, she spent almost an hour trying to curl her now very short hair. She began to cook dinner, waiting anxiously for Jim to arrive late, since he was always home on time. When he did finally come home, he saw Della’s new short hair and was shocked as he gave her the Christmas present that caused him to be so late. She opened it to find a set of hair combs that she had seen in a store window and praised, now with no hair to grip onto and adorn. She told Jim not to worry, and that her hair would grow back soon enough to wear them. She then gave her husband the chain for his gold watch and excitedly told him to fasten it on. Instead of taking the watch on its original leather strap from his pocket and replacing it with the new chain, he sat down and told Della that they should enjoy their Christmas Eve dinner now instead.

While in this story, “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry does not specifically state that Jim sold his watch to by Della her hair combs, it is implied because they could not afford extra expenses like presents without sacrifice, and he changes the subject when she tells him to put the watch on his new chain. This story shows the sweet sentiment of Christmas, that humans are willing to work an extra shift, take up a second job, or sacrifice their belongings and prized possessions to be able to afford Christmas gifts for the people they love. It shows the spirit of Christmas giving has always been in the hearts of humans, no matter the hardship.