Day 9 - Why do we give gifts?

Don’t get me wrong, who doesn’t like to give or get gifts, especially at Christmas?! But why do we do it?

Some say it’s because God gave His greatest gift – His Son – at Christmas.
Other say it’s because the Magi brought gifts to Christ.
While we can certainly say that Christmas’ gift-giving reminds us of God’s gift or of the Magi’s gifts, the real reason we give gifts is because of a pagan holiday.

Below is part of an article from Wikipedia explaining the origin in the celebration of Saturnalia, how the church banned gift giving, and how we’ve now redefined it:

“The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making the Christmas season the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. Gift giving was common in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient festival which took place in late December and may have influenced Christmas customs. Christmas gift giving was banned by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages due to its suspected pagan origins. It was later rationalized by the Church on the basis that it associated St. Nicholas with Christmas, and that gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to the infant Jesus by the Biblical Magi.”