Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

These gifts to the baby Jesus, was this the source of Christmas giving? Searching various websites it is obvious that Christians most closely attach this sentiment to the Magi gifting. Secular society rather points to a Roman year end exchange signifying a good year, Saturnalia, named after the Roman god Saturn who was their god of wealth, prosperity, dominion. The other more noted source was modeled after the legend of Old Saint Nick.

All one has to do is look down a history of celebrations across a wide variety of cultures to discover the coming together of one universal celebration, the most common use of gifting. This did not come into common practice by the masses until the 1800’s. 1800 years passed before the collective celebration began. Why?

Christmas became a commercial enterprise upon which many businesses thrived or died according to  year-end sales. That has not changed much. Anyone in the retail business is very aware of the effects of seasonal sales. Large amounts of advertising money is dedicated towards Christmas sales.

Do you feel pressured into buying Christmas gifts? I cannot see Christ wanting anyone to feel pressured into gifting. He is all about love. Love is given freely, without reservation and without demands. There is no way that I can afford monetarily to match the love that I feel for my family. So why do I have to suffer the pressure of the season?

I will allow you to ponder that answer for yourselves. My answer will only fit me.

2 Corinthians 2:19c in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome

Since Christmas is not in the bible then as expected I could not find the word mistletoe either. Here is the closest verse, (yes taken out of context) that exemplifies mistletoe in nature. It is a parasite that feeds off another trees root system and has no resources of its own and feeds off the living. Obviously, that is not what the word indicates in association with the tradition of Christmas, or does it?

Looking at some of the internet resources, some of which I refuse to parade here, take the use of mistletoe back to the Druids who proclaimed it to be the soul of the great oak. Makes sense that tree worshippers might come to that conclusion. The hanging of mistletoe at the door was meant to ward off evil and witches. One can draw the conclusion that a woman entering a house under the mistletoe was not a witch and therefor greeted as a welcomed guest.

The other conclusions that could be drawn were more romantic in pagan lore due to other magical traits ascribed to the plant. Excuse me for not going there. This is after all a Christian devotional with all good intentions. Kid friendly I hope.

It becomes more and more apparent that Christmas traditions are accepted and passed down from generation to generation without much of any historical perspective. Perhaps that is because if a serious Christian were to keep bringing up these points, I would be called a killjoy, and I have.

People want to enjoy their traditions without having to convict themselves of the attachments to pagan rituals. I don’t blame for that. It is supposed to be a festive occasion. It is only my wish in this, that if you call yourself a Christian, and you mean it, not to forget whose birth we are celebrating.

Gifting, let us consider gifts next.