The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a
special day in winter probably began in
ancient Rome and
northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each
other small presents as part of their year-end
celebrations.
In the
United States and England, children hang stockings on
their bedpost or near a fireplace on Christmas Eve,
hoping that it will be filled with treats while they
sleep. In Scandinavia, similar-minded children leave
their shoes on the hearth. This tradition can be traced
to legends about Saint Nicholas. One legend tells of
three poor sisters who could not marry because they had
no money for a dowry. To save them from being sold by
their father, St. Nick left each of the three sisters
gifts of gold coins. One went down the chimney and
landed in a pair of shoes that had been left on the
hearth. Another went into a window and into a pair of
stockings left hanging by the fire to dry.
No one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate
gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus stories
of giving gifts to good children, combined with an
amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the
turn of the century, has made gift giving a central
focus of the Christmas tradition.
