Tracing Back the History of Christmas Gift-Giving Tradition

Giving presents to each other is a way of living. But going back in history of Christmas present, you will find that this tradition evolved from different parts of the world over a period of time.

Romans the Pioneers

The first ever recorded tradition of presents goes back to the days of Romans who celebrated the year end in honor of their Gods. As a part of celebrating this, people used to bring food items for the king and make merry. This was not mandatory until the ruler Caligula made it a law to bring gifts on the day of New Year. Probably this tradition evolved into present day gift-giving.

Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus

Probing little more into the history of Christmas presents we come across the 4th century bishop, St. Nicholas. It is said that he used to leave presents for the residents during his time. This saint, remembered for his generosity, over many hundreds of years later, came to be known as present day Santa Claus. Following this, the tradition of present giving became prevalent world-wide by the 10th century.

It is said that a certain Father Christmas was responsible for distributing presents in England, a Pere Noel in France and Babbo Natale and Le Befana in Italy. These characters too can be compared to present day Santa Claus.

Victorian Christmas

In England, Henry III seemed to have forced people to pay him monetary tributes for Christmas and New Year. This was opposed by the Churches, but people came to like the idea of getting gifts and the tradition stuck. Journeying through the history of Christmas presents we see that most of our Christmas celebrations come from the Victorian traditions. Their renewed merriment towards this festival was a welcome change after centuries of decline.

The Three Wise Men

The three wise men bought gifts for the baby Jesus. It could be an act to justify that He was God’s gift. It is quite likely that present day tradition to bring gifts for the new born evolved from this biblical story.

Present Day Christmas Traditions

The simple tradition of gift exchange became totally commercialized in the 19th century. People wanted snazzier gifts and cheap gifts were looked down upon. Christmas time became a sales boom for stores and slowly, the tradition set in and is continuing tell date where last season items are a big no-no.

Today’s traditions have come a long way from the history of Christmas present giving when gift-giving was a voluntary gift-giving tradition. Now become a commercialized fashion statement. Yet, the spirit of merry making and the joy of sharing still remain intact. The core is the same, with a few extravagant price tags.