And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:21-23 NLT
And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11
When the question is asked, “why do we give gifts at Christmas?” the answer is often, “because the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus.” This is our first year to experience Christmas in Spain. It was interesting to learn that January 6 (Epiphany, the twelve days after Christmas that tradition says it took the Wise Men to arrive in Bethlehem), is the big gift giving day for the children of Spain. Santa Claus doesn’t bring their presents on Christmas Day, the Wise Men do on Epiphany.
The dictionary definition of Epiphany is “the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi” or “a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.” The baby Jesus was revealed to the Wise Men as the Messiah and King and their gifts reflected that. And that realization caused them to bow down and worship Him.
The other answer to “why do we give gifts at Christmas?” is to celebrate the greatest gift ever given, the gift of God’s Son, who came to save us from our sins; to be Immanuel, God with us. When we open this gift, we receive not only eternal life for the future, but also love, hope, peace and joy for today. Advent is the time to prepare our hearts to celebrate His arrival: historically in the past, in our lives today, and when He will come again. It is the time to remember to keep our focus on God’s most precious gift to us, and to share that gift with everyone we can.
“Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room!”