One of the most exciting parts of Christmas, especially for children is giving and receiving gifts.... Looking at a bunch of parcels under the tree and wondering which one might be yours. The anticipation of what might be inside. Hoping that someone was listening to the hints you had been giving. The mystery of receiving a gift from someone who loves you is something very cool to look forward to.
Sure, there has been the odd bad, strange, unwanted or even embarrassing gift that some of us seem to have been landed with at least once, but most of the time, it's a good experience receiving and it can be a lot of fun planning the giving too. Oh, and it can be tiresome, time consuming, disappointing, draining and exasperating.... not to mention expensive! Oops... sorry! Just mentioned it.
So why do we do it? What are the origins of gift giving, and in particular, gift giving at Christmas. Where did it all begin?
And does this actually matter
Gift giving at the time of a birth was a practice long before the Roman Empire existed. However, many only trace gift giving at Christmas back to pagan Roman tradition of giving gifts to celebrate the birth of the sun god on December 25. Some believe therefore that giving gifts to others at Christmas is an act of pagan worship. But consider this…
Because someone in the past or present with a different belief to you, comes up with an activity to express their belief, does that mean you can’t practice that activity even if you're not celebrating what they are? Because some gave gifts (and still do) on December 25 to honour what the Bible declares to be a false god (the sun) does that mean that Christians or others cannot give a gift to someone for a completely different reason? Does it all come down to who thought of it first?
Surely when a gift is given, what is most important is not the reason why a pagan worshipper gave their gift 2,000 years ago but why you are giving the gift today.
Is there a the biblical reason for Christians to give gifts at Christmas? Are there any biblical examples of giving to celebrate the birth of Christ? A common answer is that has been handed down through generations (one that we have probably not thought all that deeply about) is that we are following the example of the magi who gave gifts to Jesus when they came to worship him. The magi gave gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense. But, how exactly then are we following this example by giving gifts to each other every Christmas like: socks; chocolate and battery operated toys?
So there was a very specific reason for the magi’s gifts. That reason was primarily worship. Flowing out of that worship, the gifts they gave were specifically related to who Jesus was (and is) and therefore the whole purpose for which Jesus came: to die for sinners.
On reflection, it could be challenging then to explain how giving each other gifts of chocolates, a pair of socks or a plasma TV, is following this example.
To say that we as Christians give Christmas presents because we’re following the example of the magi, overlooks the unique time, nature and purpose the magi's gifts.
It overlooks who they gave to, the significance of their gifts and their declration of Jesus to the world. Giving gifts at Christmas is one thing. Saying that we are doing it because we are following the example of the magi is another. If we want to say that we are giving because we are following their example, then we really would actually need to do that: to follow their example! But how?