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Christmas Gift Giving

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The tradition of exchanging gifts at Christmas began with the story of the Three Magi, who offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ Child shortly after his birth.

Giving has since worked its way into many seasonal stories. St. Nicholas and most of his counterparts were known for their charity. Giving gifts in their honor originated around the 1200s when provincial French nuns brought presents to poor children's homes on the eve of December 6, St. Nicholas' feast day.

In England in the 1700s, charity gift-giving at Christmas time conveyed a different message. The poor -- most often bands of boys and young men -- claimed the right to march to the houses of the well-to-do, enter their halls, and receive gifts of food, drink, and sometimes money. The rich had to let them in because Christmas was the one time of the year when peasants and servants exercised the right to demand that their wealthier neighbors treat them as equals. The rich were afraid not to comply.

At this same time in America, the gift-giving custom had become popular and gifts such as money and foodstuffs were being exchanged among friends and family. Sometimes everyone in a community received apples for Christmas, or perhaps a handkerchief or a hand-knitted scarf. Even a length of rope was a suitable present gratefully received. Before the Industrial Revolution, most children's playthings were homemade, but by the 1800s factory-made products were available.

Shopping for Christmas gifts has become a custom in its own right, one that has grown through the decades. Early shoppers suffered many of the same plights as today's shoppers: lining up at crowded cashiers,....[MORE]