Christmas gift
Christmas gifts (also: Christmas gifts ., Austrian Christmas .., South German Stud Books, Austrian Christian child , Christmas gift . Landschaftl or Christmas ) are gifts that traditionally mark the Christmas festival are distributed in friends and family.
History and traditions
The tradition of giving presents at Christmas can be traced back to the 13th century. Today, different customs have emerged for the handing over of Christmas gifts in different countries and regions.
Date and course of the gift giving
The handing over of Christmas presents is known as giving presents . In Germany and Austria, gifts are placed under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and opened that same evening. In France, shoes are put under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and the presents are added to them overnight, which are then added after the midnight mass on 24/25. December to be unpacked. In English-speaking countries, socks are used instead and placed by the fireplace. In Spain, Christmas gifts are traditionally distributed on January 6th, in memory of the Three Kings , the Catholic version of the wise men from the Orient, who, according to the Bible , brought gifts to the newly born Jesus of Nazareth .
Fictional gift bringer
The children are told that the presents are brought by a fictional person. In southern Germany, western Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Latin America this is the Christ Child . The Santa Claus occurs in Northern Germany and in englischprachigen and Latin countries as "Santa Claus" or "Father Christmas" (North America and England), as "Père Noël" (France) or "Babbo Natale" (Italy) in appearance. In addition, there are still special regional traditions, for example in the Basque Country the “Olentzero” and in Russia Ded Moros ( Russian Дед Мороз , in German: “ Father Frost ”).
Sales of Christmas gifts
According to a survey, consumers in Germany plan an annual budget of around 241 euros for Christmas gifts. The United States spends approximately $ 66 billion on Christmas gifts annually. The demand for Christmas gifts means that November and December - the Christmas business - are the months with the highest sales in retail .
According to the HDE, toys, perfumes , accessories and leather goods as well as entertainment electronics such as MP3 players , digital cameras and game consoles were the most heavily traded goods in Germany at Christmas 2007 . A fifth of the Christmas gifts are vouchers and cash. According to other sources, books are also among the most popular gifts.
Empirical studies in the USA and Germany come to the unanimous conclusion that the recipient would have paid less for a Christmas present than the giver had to pay, but would charge more than the market price if one wanted to buy it from them.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ spanish-fiestas.com: Christmas in Spain
- ↑ Thomas D .: Spending at Christmas That's how much Germans spend on gifts. September 15, 2017, accessed February 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Handelsblatt, December 14, 2009, page 20 f.
- ↑ Handelsblatt, December 23, 2007
- ↑ Börsenblatt, December 27, 2007
- ↑ N24.de, November 12, 2009
- ↑ Grave of billions year after year: Santa Claus destroys value handelsblatt.com, December 15, 2009.
- ^ Thomas K. Bauer, Christoph M. Schmidt: Have and not have - An analysis of the appreciation of Christmas presents in Germany , in: Schmollers Jahrbuch 129 (2009), pp. 523-538.