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Giving is one of the oldest human traditions! Gifts through history The history of giving is absolutely fascinating. Giving is a tradition that has existed since the very beginning of the human race. It can be a symbol of gratitude, a symbol of love and affection, or simply a symbol of status. Giving is perhaps one of the world’s longest-running rituals or traditions. People like to give gifts to each other to express gratitude or love for each other. Giving is thus naturally part of every special occasion and is an experience in which all cultures around the world participate. While you may have thought a lot about the gifts they buy, the people who care about you, you may not have thought about why we give at all. If you are curious, this story will take you through the history of giving, showing how it is created in different periods and cultures! The giving and meaning behind the gift certainly change throughout the year. Although giving is common to all civilizations, the reasons for giving, as well as the nature of gifts, are different for different cultures. Although we often think that giving only refers to giving something special to a person we care about. We can also notice that gifting also applies to the giver. Individuals from certain cultures donate to establish their own wealth, power, and dominance. This timeline shows some of the different civilizations, showing how gifting was experienced in different historical periods. Each culture has a very interesting and unique relationship to the art of giving. Giving through history Primitive civilizations The ancient tradition of giving can be traced back to cave people. He was an important part of their communities, especially for establishing dominance, respect, and starting a family. Tribal leaders would often gift a person who has achieved something great for their tribe. This helped them to show their gratitude to the individual and reward them for their achievements! On the other hand, ordinary cavemen often gave gifts to show their dominance and affection. The act of giving a gift to another person symbolized the caveman’s ability to support and provide for the family, making the process very appealing to women. It also made other cavemen respect them, as their gift suggested success and power. Typical gifts given among cavemen were teeth and stones, which at the time were classified as souvenirs. These gifts were widely appreciated because they could be engraved in something special for the recipient. They were placed on necklaces or some other form of accessory. So they could proudly show off to everyone in the tribe! Ancient Egyptians We can thank the ancient Egyptians for the tradition of birthday gifts. The day of the coronation of the pharaohs was considered more important than their actual day of birth. This led to this day becoming their birthday. This is because it was a day when they were considered to have transformed into Gods and started a new life. Pharaohs were given many special gifts to commemorate this day. Gifts like jewelry and various crops, along with ceremonies and feasts. The ancient Egyptians also buried many gifts with the dead. They believed that special gifts would help them in their transition to the afterlife. Wealthy Egyptians would usually be buried with more complex gifts, while ordinary Egyptians would receive more everyday items, such as bowls and food. Ancient Greece Religion had a great influence on the nature of giving in Ancient Greece. The Greeks believed that evil spirits would come to haunt a loved one on their birthday. So they would visit them to bring good wishes and gifts to prevent these ghosts from appearing. Interestingly, the tradition of blowing out candles also emerged from this. The Greeks would use their desire and the act of blowing out a candle to send a message to the Gods to protect a loved one on her birthday. In ancient Greece, it was customary to greet travelers who came to their homes with gifts. This is because of the belief that these are actually disguised gods. They were gifted to show feelings and build relationships, as well as to provide help and hospitality. One of the most solemn customs around the world is birthdays. They are celebrated in every culture, and today it is quite difficult to imagine birthdays without gifts. This unique form of expression is believed to have originated from religious customs in ancient Greece. So we can thank the ancient Greeks at the great modern birthday parties. Ancient Rome The emperors of ancient Rome were definitely familiar with receiving gifts. It was their tradition to receive various gifts during the Saturnalia festival as the rules of the Empire. The festival aimed to honor the god Saturn and was held on December 17 and continued later until December 23. Emperors would often receive tokens of fortune, figs, honey cakes, dates, and more. Gift Exchange Day was known as Sigillaria and took place on December 19th. The Romans exchanged more modest items, such as candles, seasonal figurines, and gifts designed to entertain or frighten other guests. Some bosses often gave their clients or employees a tip known as ‘sigillarcium’ to help them buy gifts. Unlike many of the more cult festivals held in the Roman Empire, the Saturnalia were widely celebrated at the end of the calendar year in all territories of Rome. It was a much-loved festival thanks to its carefree atmosphere, generous gifts, and lavish parties. People were therefore less inclined to give up his popular tradition. As Christianity spread in the Roman lands, the giving took place more and more on the New Year. This changed again around the year 336 when it was determined that Jesus ’birthday took place on December 25. Since then, a Christmas gift has emerged along with the story of the three wise men giving the Child Jesus. The concept of giving soon spread beyond Ancient Rome to other Christian countries, in some of these countries giving was done early in Advent, around December 5th or 6th. Giving in the Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, valuable gifts were often based on food and were supposed to be a symbol of power. If people wanted to get a political or religious favor or simply show their loyalty to institutions, giving was certainly the way forward. Books and manuscripts were also well-received gifts. At the time, they were expensively crafted and showed devotion to the recipient of the gifts. The number of romantic gifts given by men to women also increased in the Middle Ages. Men also performed love songs to women to win their affection or give them personalized gifts. Particularly strange was the act of sewing one’s own hair into clothes for a loved one. Another unusual but common type of gift during the Middle Ages was the dowry. A dowry was a gift of money, property, cattle, or other valuables given by a man to the father of his beloved, in exchange for the marriage of his daughter. This gift was common courtesy in the Middle Ages. The most famous gifts in the world The greatest gift in the history The tradition of giving among individuals has grown steadily in Europe. Thus it became commonplace as an expression of friendship, good neighborliness, and peace among nations. Probably the greatest gift in history, France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. When the American Civil War ended in 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye, a French historian, proposed that France build a statue as a gift to the United States as a sign of the nation’s success in creating a democratic state. The statue was to act as a symbol of friendship between France and the United States. The gift represented France’s desire to build a long-lasting relationship with America. This kind of giving was a way of establishing a relationship between the two nations. The goal of this gift is to show that the two countries share the same ideals and that they should be allies in the years to come. The most expensive gift in the history Near the Indian city of Agra is a white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628-1658) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, that is, of course, the Taj Mahal. About 20,000 craftsmen were engaged in its construction. In today's sense, it can be said with certainty that it is - invaluable. The most famous (non) gift in the history After a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by the Greeks, the Greeks built a wooden horse and left it at the gates of Troy. The Greek army sailed away. But only seemingly. Anyway, at the time it was customary for a defeated general to surrender his horse. Trojans can be forgiven for thinking that this is some form of gift that accompanies "surrender." The rest is history. Watch out for the Trojan horse! Gift giving and the biggest Christmas event Christmas. In modern times, it is believed that the tradition of gifts for Christmas began with the gifts of the Three Wise Men (who were a blessing for the Life of the Little Jesus). But history tells a different story. Giving for Christmas is more a story of economic development and industrialization than the growth of a religious tradition. Only with the advent of cheaper production in the late 19th century could goods be easily and conveniently obtained for gifts on special occasions. The tradition of giving presents at Christmas stems from the religious story of Christmas. The gift is a reminder of the gifts that the Three Wise Men gave to Jesus when he was born, which took the form of gold, incense, and myrrh. The idea of ??giving also referred to God giving us when He brought Jesus into the world. Like many popular Christmas traditions, people have been exchanging gifts for a very long time. Although trends and tastes in gifts may change, gestures of acquiring, preparing, and giving away something of value to friends and family remain the same. Today, giving is a central part of Christmas Day, and many families dedicate a lot of time to customs. For children, but also for some adults, getting presents is often the highlight of Christmas. Giving is such a widely celebrated event in the Western world that huge industries have sprung up around it. Billions of pounds, euros, and dollars are spent each year in creating, marketing, and distributing products that people can buy for each other. Gifting and psychology To truly understand the history of giving, we should look at the meaning of giving and why we believe that giving is an important part of any relationship. As we all know, giving has become a crucial part of maintaining and strengthening relationships with the people around us. This sometimes gives the gift a rather pressing task but accompanied by a fantastic sense of reward. Although the nature of giving has changed over the years and may vary between cultures, the reasons why people donate have remained almost the same. The psychology of giving is absolutely fascinating and helps us understand how by participating in giving, the donor or recipient can have mutual emotional benefits. Basically, giving is a way we can express gratitude to those who are important to us in some way or express affection and sincere feelings for people we care about very much. This can be a family member, spouse, colleague or new neighbor. Regardless of the relationship, giving has always been a key way of expressing gratitude to a particular person. It allows us to connect with the people around us, creating a closer relationship with those in our lives. We are able to strengthen our ties with certain people and advance the tradition of giving. In addition to the recipient of the gift-receiving something significant, the act of giving fills us with feelings of warmth and well-being. It has been proven that giving to others can bring fantastic emotional benefits. Studies have shown that people feel happy when they are able to give something to a particular loved one. The person receiving the gift is also happy when they see that the loved one has made an effort to give them something special. Giving is also a thoughtful way we can convey our feelings when we can’t find the right words. Ivan Najbauer
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