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When we talk about Christmas holiday traditions, we cannot forget the Christmas gifts that we exchange with each other as a token of love, affection, and happiness. There are lots of tales associated... |
When we talk about Christmas holiday traditions, we cannot forget the Christmas gifts that we exchange with each other as a token of love, affection, and happiness. There are lots of tales associated with the giving and receiving of gifts on the occasion of Christmas, but two tales are the most popular of all. The first tale is associated with the three wise men who gave three gifts to Jesus Christ while the other tale is associated with the life of St. Nicholas who is popularly called as Santa Claus – the one who brings us gifts and candies.
The Three Wise Men And Their Three Gifts
As per Christmas holiday traditions, three wise men once visited Jesus Christ. They offered three gifts to Him. The first gift was Frankincense. It was a perfume that Jews use while they worship their Lord. By offering this gift to Jesus, the wise men were supposedly trying to tell that people will now worship Jesus and no other God. The second gift was a gold piece. Gold was a symbol of kings. By offering gold as a gift to Jesus, the wise men were trying to tell that Jesus was the King of the kings. The third and last gift was Myrrh. It was also a perfume, but people in those days were in practice of using this perfume to embalm dead bodies so that they could hide the foul odor even if they have not been buried for long hours. By offering Myrrh as a gift to Jesus, the third wise man prophesized that Jesus would suffer at the hands of the people and He would die soon. Christians believe in this tale and the holiday traditions of giving and receiving gifts are supposed to have their origin in this holy tale.
The Giving Nature Of St Nicholas
The Christians also believe in the story of St. Nicholas who was a holy man and practiced distributing gifts to the needy and poor people. In fact, the main mascot of Christmas – the Santa Claus is no one else but St. Nicholas. It’s the belief in the holiday traditions of the giving nature of Santa Claus that has developed as the practice of exchanging gifts with each other on Christmas Day.
By exchanging gifts with each other on Christmas Day, people not only follow holiday traditions but also make it a means to spread love and smiles in the community and society as a whole.
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