Gift Giving

When the three wise men traveled from afar to deliver gifts to the newborn baby Jesus, they began a tradition that continues today—the tradition of gift giving. We love it, we treasure it, we sacrifice time, energy, and lots of money for the tradition. At this time of year the wealthiest may receive houses, yachts, airplanes, land, stock options, and automobiles. Others may receive clothes, costume jewelry, toys, food, shoes, gift certificates, books, movies, compact discs, and electronic equipment.

Some have traveled many distances for family time, whereas others have stayed close to home. Many have ordered gifts through the Internet but many others prefer to touch and feel the gift prior to its purchase. Some have found a small specialty shop but others found the large department store and braved a difficult parking situation in order to find the perfect gift. The hustle and bustle of gift buying coupled with candy-making, cookie, baking, decorating, light hanging, Christmas caroling (another topic for later), concerts, and Christmas trees, all form a collectivist spirit called Christmas.

Of course contemporary society and the media are also working to present Christmas generically with emphases on Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Grinch, Snowmen, and general moral-isms found in the marvelous old films of which It's a Wonderful Life is my personal favorite with Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer being a close second. These films present warm, sacrificial, and purposeful parables that leave us realizing that we are not alone and we can make a difference.

Nothing is wrong with the rather benign and enjoyable holiday films, and icons, but there is also no taking away from the beautiful and factual story of Epiphany. Many churches honor Epiphany beginning with a Christmas feast and followed by 8 days of celebration with the feast beginning 12 days after Christmas. Different churches adhere to variations of this calendar but modern culture tends to ignore events after Christmas as having any kind of religious significance. Yet there is little doubt that the selfless tradition of gift-giving, regardless of the modern timing flaws, symbolizes the gifts of the Magi to the Messiah and in a sense symbolizes the gift of God's son to the world.

While the secularism of Christmas seems to pervade our every step during this season, I suspect certain practices will never change including the practice of giving gifts. Giving demonstrates altruism, love, compassion, sacrifice, sharing, and communal spirit. A Randian might turn around and say, however, that giving is ultimately a selfish act in that the experience is ultimately self-rewarding; but regardless of the interpretation of the act of giving, the fact remains that giving is one of the greatest of the traditions of the Christmas season.

In addition, giving can include a multitude of practices apart from the expenditure of a new item. I recently opened 3 gifts from a friend. None were extravagant but each was personalized and special. My friend had given the gift of love by sacrificing time and emotional energy. Each gift was perfect. Another friend recently gave a gift that showed much forethought and care. All gifts, large or small, pricey or inexpensive, are special and are always worth a sincere thank you. Giving of your time, energy, love, and talents is a positive way to demonstrate care of another person. Let us continue this beautiful and benevolent practice and let it extend beyond the Christmas season.