From Me to You
Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete ki a koe. Warm Christmas morning greetings to you all. My family have gathered though we’ll all have our Christmas meal together this evening. The morning is last minute prep, a little gift opening or alot by the look of the pile under the tree. Mostly, it’s time to be together, to phone those whanau (family) members not able to be here in Waipukurau and hear their cheerful voices down the phone line.
Christmas and Gift-giving
“The union of Christmas and gift giving was a gradual one; actually, the full story of the bright packages beneath the tree begins in the days before the birth of Christ. In ancient Rome, gifts were exchanged during the New Year’s celebrations. At first these gifts were simple, such as a few twigs from a sacred grove and food. Many gifts were in the form of vegetables in honor of the fertility goddess Strenia. In classical times Roman citizens exchanged strenae, the attributes of the goddess Strenia, in the hope that she would make the year a sweet and fragrant one.
Like many old customs, gift exchange was difficult to get rid of even as Christianity spread and gained official status. Early church leaders tried to outlaw the custom, but the people cherished it too much to let it go. So the church leaders sought a Christian justification for the practice. The justification was found in the Magi’s act of bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, and in the concept that Christ was a gift from God to the world, bringing in turn the gift of redemption and everlasting life.
Even though the roots of the Christmas present extend to ancient times, the gift giving tradition we are familiar with today some say has a long history dating back to practises in Victorian England. The Victorians, brought a renewed warmth and spirit to Christmas after it had experienced a long period of decline and made the idea of family part of that celebration. Friendliness and charity filled many hearts during their Christmas season, so giving gifts was natural. The ultimate reason for giving a gift was as an expression of kindness, a sentiment that went nicely with the historical tradition of the holiday.
Christmas Pasts
The Victorians surrounded the act of gift giving with a great deal of ingenuity and merriment: simply tearing into a cache of wrapped boxes would have been to miss the point. Far more thought and preparation than that were in order during the holiday season. They had cobweb parties, which was a lot of messy fun. Each family member was assigned a color, then shown to a room crisscrossed with yarn of various colors. Each person was to follow an assigned color through the web of yarn until he or she reached the present tied to the end.
The Christmas pie was another favorite diversion, although it was not exactly edible. Small gifts were hidden in a large bowl of grain. After everyone had eaten Christmas dinner, they would gather around the pie and they took turns taking a spoonful. Whatever treat was in their spoonful was theirs to keep.
Every Christmas when my mother was alive she always made a beautiful steam pudding with truppences in it. We however, were required to give them back after discovering them whereupon they were cleaned and stowed to put in the pudding the next year. The great fun and joy was in the finding, it never occurred to us to keep them like in the older tradition. My father has a ‘lucky’ one from those times that he keeps in his wallet. I hope I can inherit it one day simply for the memory. I think that’s why he has it too.
Santa Claus
The American Christmas was also influenced by the Victorians. Gift giving, tradition and all. America expanded on the concept with the addition of Santa Claus. His association with gifts also a natural one. Soon Santa or one of his earlier models became responsible for the presents left in an ever-increasing number of stockings. By the late nineteenth century the simple and non-materialistic gift giving tradition had began to wither away.
Christmas had come face to face with commercialism, and the new message was to buy. It wasn’t long before shopping and the idea of gifts had made its way into the meaning of Christmas. This transition was highly encouraged by merchants who stood to benefit from a year-end buying binge. It was and still is a question of whether or not this development did more harm than good to the holiday.
Some people wonder whether the emphasis on buying, shopping and getting brings more happiness or disappointment, especially to those who can afford very little. But, many others argue that Christmas, through its many culture changes, would greatly be affected by the modern consumer culture in which we live. In the end, it is likely that the best way to approach Christmas gift giving is with both viewpoints in mind.”
How I Roll
For me personally, I don’t buy into the commercial thing, it’s a personal choice. I try to think about the gifts I get and the person I’m getting it for. My sister asked me what I wanted for Christmas yesterday and I immediately said a pack of AA batteries for my camera because I really do want that. It’s who I am. I don’t like surprises, never have when it comes to having things that I need rather than simply having a thing for having-sake. I’m particular, that way I rarely have things around me that I dislike. I like interesting or ordinary with a quirk. Kinda says it all really!
My father had a linen cupboard with 24 yellow shirts. Why? Because he never could bring himself to tell his sister-in-law that he actually didn’t like yellow shirts! She brought him one for 24 successive Christmas’, he’d have had more except she passed away and only then did he feel he could give them to Vinnies (St Vincent de Paul) who promptly despatched them to Fiji where their colourful nature I imagine was only matched by the recipients cheerful smiles. Anyway, Merry Christmas friends, from me to you today.
