Why Do People Give Charitable Xmas Gifts?

The practice of giving gifts to family and friends, as well as giving charitable Xmas gifts to the less fortunate, can partially be traced all the way back to the wise men who visited Jesus after His birth. Matthew 2:1–12 records how the wise men followed the star to Bethlehem and presented the Child with gold, frankincense and myrrh.[1]

Now, holiday traditions from around the world involve exchanging gifts with loved ones. It has become closely tied to and almost synonymous with Christmas. Indeed, the average American consumer budgets around $641 for holiday gifts alone.[2]

Because Christmas has become a gift-giving holiday, it is natural that people also think about giving to charity around December twenty-fifth. This has been the case for a long time. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, “‘At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,’ said the gentleman, taking up a pen, ‘it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.’”[3] Since this book was instrumental in popularizing certain Christmas traditions, charity has become inescapably part of the day.


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