The giving of
gifts for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays is a custom that dates back throughout thousands of years of mankind's history.It appears that people have been giving gifts to each other since the dawn of humanity. Unique objects were fashioned from bark, reeds, and other natural substances and given to the tribal leaders, in order to demonstrate their allegiance and procure favour, something still done today.The ancient Romans gave gifts to each other on special feast days and on the first day of the year, when sweet cakes were given to others to bless the upcoming year and make it sweet, coins were given for prosperity, and lamps were given to light everyone's journey through life. They also gave small gifts to each other on the anniversary of the day they were born.The Bible has many examples of the giving of gifts. Some of the most notable being the giving of Christ to the world as a sacrifice, and the gifts that the three Magi, the wise men from the East bring the newborn King of the world. The gift of frankincense for a priest, the gift of gold for a king, and the gift of myrrh for death and suffering. Other biblical gifts include Mary of Magdalene washing Jesus' feet with precious perfume. The Bible tells us not to give a gift to someone with whom we are angry, but to repent of the anger before giving the giftThere are many worldwide gift giving traditions throughout history. Many ancient peoples gave gifts to their gods as well, precious metals, and jewellery, also sacrifices of animal and even human lives. Among the most ostentatious of gifts, perhaps was the building of the great pyramids in Egypt as gifts and monuments to their Pharaohs whom they honoured as Gods. During the Middle Ages, gifts were again given to royalty in attempts to gain personal favour, or wartime allegiance. The rulers of those times would also grant gifts of gold, land and titles to subjects who had proved themselves loyal.In many cultures, gifts were also given as dowries, which included things like cattle, precious metals, and jewellery. In other cultures, the husband to be gave the father of the bride to be special gifts to repay the father for what it had cost him to bring up his daughter. In South Africa, this is known as "lobola."Gifts are given today for a multitude of reasons. We give presents at cultural and religious occasions such as Easter and Christmas. We also give gifts for birthdays, holidays, farewells, to show love especially on Valentine's day, to welcome someone whether to a new place, to celebrate new birth, and "just because we can."A gift does not have to be a tangible item, but can be something unseen, something as simple, loving and meaningful as a hug or a smile or a few kind words. it could also be a task or a chore done for someone else as an act of kindness.
gift South Africa
