Why do we exchange presents at Christmas? Do you want to know? Well then keep on listening!

Hi and Welcome to the advent edition of my podcast My Life and Other Funny Stories. In this edition, I bring you a new short Christmas-themed episode every day of December until Christmas. If you want to read the transcript of this episode, click the link in the description!

Today, we will answer the question: Why do we exchange presents at Christmas? so let’s get into it!

At Christmas, all children look forward to the presents that will be lying under the decorated tree. The older we get, the less exciting it all becomes but it is a beloved tradition, nevertheless. So where does it come from?

Before I start, I couldn’t help myself but insert a small grammar window since it is a very common mistake- we say AT Christmas if we mean the whole holiday but we say ON Christmas day, if we are talking about only the one day when we celebrate the main event.

Ok, now back to the presents.

The first notion comes from the religious background – as we all know, the three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, went on a JOURNEY and brought presents to baby Jesus when he was born. These gifts were meant to show respect towards the son of God. Christians therefore took the tradition of gift-giving as a way of honoring the Three Wise Men.

A new interpretation of gift-giving from a religious context is that is Jesus’s birthday and since we can’t give presents to him, we can give them to each other.

Not only Christians are practicing gift-giving, though. Since then, even non-religious people have taken this practice to surprise their loved ones.

This tradition is well preserved even here in the Czech Republic. In my opinion, the reason for that is the anticipation and happy faces you see on children when they are waiting and then opening their presents. As an adult, I am not keen on exchanging high-priced items, I would much rather let my family and friends spend their money on themselves. It can also sometimes be a source of stress as the expectations can be sometimes very high.

What is your opinion on this tradition? Let me know!

Source: 

Painter, Sally. „Why Do We Give Presents at Christmas? Historical Traditions.“ LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow, 3 May 2023, www.lovetoknow.com/celebrations/christmas/why-do-we-give-presents-at-christmas.