Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Tradition of Christmas Gifts

There will be a also a gift for you


The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began inChristmas gifts 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.

Source



Hi my friends,

thanks for liking my yesterdays post so much with all your kind comments!

Today something about the tradition of Christmas gifts.
Have a wonderful day!
Susanne



Talking about gifts:
The CALENDARS 2010 are for sale and it's still NOT to late to buy one!

8 comments:

GMG said...

Hi Sue! You have been busy making all that packing... ;))

Time to relax with a visit to a museum? Blogtrotter is at the British! Enjoy and have a great holiday season!

PS: Also know about that St. Nicholas story...

This Makes My Day said...

Dear Sue, I sent you Christmas greetings, in my Christmas gift for you there are some big hugs and best wishes for you and your family. Hope that the postman will bring it in time to you.

S-V-H said...

Vielen Dank Charles, fuer die guten Wuensche. ich wuensche dir auch ein schoenes Fest udn ein gutes und friedliches neues Jahr!

Voegtli said...

Hello Susanne,

Thank you very much for all your comments and wishes. My hand is improving and almost ok. So I will be around much more now.

Merry Christmas

Peter

S-V-H said...

Thank you Peter and Merry Christmas to you too!

Simone Cento said...

Susanne, I must tell you I commence to feel stressed doing gifts for Xmas. Ahahah! Every here more gifts, more problems to find out the right one..... ouch!!!!

S-V-H said...

Tell every one that there will be no gifts next year, Simone. You'll see, it's much easier as you think! :)

Gifts are for kids on Christmas!Thanks for your comment and Merry Christmas!

S-V-H said...

Hi Gil,
thanks for stopping bye :)

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin