The holidays have been a long-standing tradition around the world and have a larger meaning than just gift giving. According to History, “The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.” The history behind celebrating Christmas is important in understanding how it is celebrated in the present. Although Christmas is mostly no longer about celebrating winter solstice, it is still a time many people celebrate. Sophomore Jake Staples states, “Christmas for me is about being with my family and giving out the gifts is a part of that.” This feeling is reciprocated around the world, as many people celebrate Christmas as a time to be with loved ones and give out gifts as a show of appreciation.
The tradition of gift giving has become a popular and practiced part of the celebration of Christmas, and family or friends are always trying to figure out what one another wants. As you age this struggle becomes increasingly difficult. According to the New York Post, “The stress and worry of getting things right really does affect our enjoyment as we get older.” The added stress could be due to a combination of things, like an increased level of responsibility or a greater understanding of other people’s wants or needs. Either way, as you age gift giving itself becomes increasingly difficult. Senior Susie Wijsman’s thinks that there is a reason Christmas has become more stressful, stating, “I feel like it has because I give more presents out.” The difficulty of giving out presents is mostly not the worry of going out to buy something but getting a gift with meaning and making sure the recipient likes it. This is why many people feel stressed out even more as they age because they have a greater understanding of what constitutes a good gift and feel a responsibility to meet those higher standards to give a good present. Even if it is necessary to put in more effort, it is much more rewarding.
This added stress and higher expectations for better gifts make Christmas much harder, and even less enjoyable. All this time, stress, and effort that people put into finding good gifts is typically not understood by children. This is mainly due to a lesser understanding of the fact that people put in so much time and effort into making such good gifts. This creates a much less stressful feeling when getting ready for Christmas as a child. Freshman Katherine Tarp states, “I mostly had my parents buy things when I was younger.” With the most stressful part of Christmas being left out, children do not have the experience of gift giving, so they never understand the stress that comes with finding a good gift.
Even if there is an added amount of effort that you need to put into gift giving, a present that comes from your heart is always going to be more memorable than an expensive one. According to Britannica, “Material gifts given at Christmas often end up in a drawer shortly afterwards, yet children remember the time spent together at Christmas. The memory of quality time together puts a big smile on their faces every time, especially at Christmas time.” These memories are the most important and meaningful part of Christmas. Junior Grayson Janous states, “Gift-giving for me is just a way to celebrate with family.” These experiences are only enabled through meaningful gifts that truly celebrate the relationships you have. This is much harder to do as a child, especially with a smaller understanding of what people want or prefer, so having good experiences during Christmas more focused on memorable gifts than material gifts is very important as a child. According to CBS, “Experiences are often better appreciated than material gifts. Some experiential gifts cost money but it is possible to give ones that don’t: a scavenger hunt, a personalized walking tour or hike, teaching someone a skill they’ve expressed interest in.” These examples do not necessarily need to be done with children, but valuing good experiences with family is very important for children.
Though all this effort and time can be stressful, many people appreciate even getting a gift in the first place. Remember that whatever the gift family and friends will always be grateful for anything. Even if the gift is not what they hoped for, the point of Christmas is not to celebrate the gifts but to celebrate your loved ones and being grateful for them.
