The Origin of Christmas Presents

Giving gifts at Christmas is not a recent invention. In fact, the tradition of giving and receiving Christmas presents can be traced back to ancient Rome’s winter solstice celebrations and its honoring of the Roman emperor.

The feast that held great importance for the ancient Romans was the winter solstice. During this celebration, high ranking Roman officials would give many presents to their emperor. The emperor was believed to be related to the sun god and the solstice was the birthday feast of the god’s son. The giving of gifts paid tribute to this occasion.

Saint Nicholas, a Catholic saint and a basis for today’s Santa Claus, liked to give presents to poor people and to children. He is, in fact, remembered as being generous and charitable to those in need. Advent features his feast day, which is precedes Christmas by only a few weeks. Historians attribute Saint Nicholas’ practice of gift giving to that of today’s society during the holiday season.

Americans began this practice in the early 1800s when general stores began offering Christmas items for sale. With this, the commercialization of Christmas began and continues today. Even more, Macy’s stayed open late for holiday shoppers for the first time in 1867. It was not long before other retail stores began to copy this habit.

The holiday’s commercialization grew when television and radio grew in usage and popularity. Stores and businesses advertised on both to lure the public into buying products for the purpose of gift giving. They understood that holiday shopping could bring in great amounts of money and fuel their sales during the season. The Internet continues to add to this shopping frenzy as online shopping gains favor with shoppers.

The yearly exchange of gifts is highly anticipated by many people in today’s world. Yet the modern practice of giving Christmas presents actually dates back to ancient Rome. Saint Nicholas contributed to it when he gave gifts to society’s poor and to children. His feast coincides with Christmas with it being celebrated on the sixth of December.

Before you buy anything online, make sure you check Wealthwood Gifts Christmas Presents and Christmas Presents articles.

08.27.10 Posted in Personalized Christmas Gifts at 9:55 am by Ken

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