My historian instincts have always been interested in the beginning of things. Here we are at Christmas again, and I wonder about the history of gift-giving. Where did our tradition of giving each other gifts begin?

Patrick Mabilog wrote a thoughtful piece about this topic several years ago. He claims that the gift-giving tradition hearkens back to a Roman pagan tradition.

If we look at Matthew 2 in the Bible, we see mysterious wise men from the East bringing gifts worthy of a King to baby Jesus. They followed the spotlight God erected over Bethlehem to alert us to the coming of the long-promised Messiah. When they finally found baby Jesus, they worshipped Him and gave him gifts. Some call them Kings, some call them magi, but they certainly deserve to be called wise men.

I recall that when I was in elementary school, the Christmas season was an emotional roller coaster. The buildup to Christmas outside my home was jubilant with lights, music, and parties. The pressure of the season inside our home, however, often led to arguments between my parents. One year, my mother took an unexpected vacation from us for several days. That felt weird, taking away some of our Christmas joy. Even the best Christmases from that time crash landed after Christmas lunch when I sadly concluded the excitement was over until the next year. It felt like the warmth of Christmas was suddenly over, and we still had over two months of winter to endure.

Things have changed for me, and I give Jesus, my Savior, all the credit. I decided to follow Jesus and become a Christian in 1979. I no longer feel like Christmas is over halfway through Christmas Day. God has given me a wonderful Christian wife and four lovely children.

The Three Wise Men, part of “Mary and Child, surrounded by angels,” a mosaic completed in 526 C.E. for the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy. Image by Nina Aldin Thune. Distribution: Creative Commons, Kunsthistorie.com Farmasihistorie.com

Years ago, when I was studying leadership at the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, they taught us never to ask those working for us to do something we would not do ourselves. God set the example by giving us His Son. 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. Giving is an act of love, and we give because He first gave us His Son at Christmas.

In 2023, however, the emphasis on gift-giving centers on giving gifts to each other. Imagine going to a birthday party for Jesus. All the attendees give presents to each other, but no one gives a thing to Jesus. What is wrong with this picture? The wise men would give us a nudge and whisper to us, “What about Jesus?”

It is His Birthday! What does He want from us?

 Ned Cosby, a prolific contributor to American Thinker, is a former pastor, veteran Coast Guard officer, and a retired career public high school teacher. His newest novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to report and discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This work of fiction addresses crimes that are all too real. Cosby has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER’S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit Ned Cosby.