handing out Christmas Presents

Christmas tree with gifts

The giving of presents (also Christmas presents or presents which are obsolete in terms of landscape ) is a Christian Christmas custom in which Christmas presents are exchanged.

regional customs

The forerunner of Christmas presents was the gifts distribution on 6 December , the St. Nicholas . After the Reformation , the date of the gift giving was moved to Christmas Eve in Protestant regions , as the Protestant Church does not worship saints and does not celebrate their name days . Originally it was only given to children, but only recently has the custom been extended to adults.

The giving of presents is the ceremony in which children in particular receive their presents on Christmas Eve, which are mostly under the Christmas tree . This used to happen at midnight on the night of December 24th to 25th , after Christmas mass . Because younger children don't necessarily stay up until midnight, the giving of presents in Germany was brought forward to the afternoon or early evening. In some regions the giving of presents is called "Christkindchen". In northern and central Germany, Santa Claus usually brings the presents, while in southern Germany and Austria it is usually the Christ Child . This distinction can also be extended to denominations.

In the USA and Great Britain it is still customary for Santa Claus , who is called Santa Claus or Father Christmas here , to bring the presents through the fireplace at midnight and the children to bring them through the fireplace on the morning of Christmas Day, December 25th to open. Some families in German-speaking countries have also adopted this custom from England.

term

The term Bescherung, which is only used in German, is derived from Middle High German Beschern = impose, allocate . It is also used in the ironic expression such a (beautiful) mess! in the case of unpleasant surprises and is used in book and film titles ( Beautiful Christmas Gifts , Beautiful Christmas Gifts , Baby Boom - A Beautiful Christmas Gifts , The Horrible Christmas Gifts in Via Merulana , etc.).

literature

There used to be more presents - sneaky Christmas stories , selected by Daniel Kampa, Diogenes Verlag AG, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-257-23775-7 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Bescherung - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Markus Bechtold: Martin Luther's Christ Child ousted St. Nicholas. In: evangelisch.de . 5th December 2018 .; accessed on December 6, 2019
Tobias Glenz: The story of the Christ Child. In: kathisch.de . 23 December 2018 .; accessed on December 6, 2019

Individual evidence

↑ For 91% of Austrians, symbolically speaking, the Christ Child brings the presents (7% Santa Claus, 2% no answer). market survey: CATI telephone interviews, representative of the Austrian population aged 16 and over, n = 418, survey period December 11 to 12, 2012. Presented by: Conrad Seidl: Survey: Dalai Lama gives more religious direction than the Pope. In: derStandard.at . December 23, 2012, accessed December 6, 2019 .
↑ Santa Claus versus Christ Child: Who brings the presents now? In: scinexx. December 17, 2010, accessed December 5, 2019 .

[1] For 91% of Austrians, symbolically speaking, the Christ Child brings the presents (7% Santa Claus, 2% no answer). market survey: CATI telephone interviews, representative of the Austrian population aged 16 and over, n = 418, survey period December 11 to 12, 2012. Presented by: Conrad Seidl: Survey: Dalai Lama gives more religious direction than the Pope. In: derStandard.at . December 23, 2012, accessed December 6, 2019 .

[2] Santa Claus versus Christ Child: Who brings the presents now? In: scinexx. December 17, 2010, accessed December 5, 2019 .