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We see the very first Christmas presents being given far back in history. In ancient Rome, during the feast of Kalends, it was tradition for the high-ranking officials to give gifts to the Roman Emperor. This wasnâ??t technically a Christian holiday (it was actually pagan) but it does coincide with the time of year and the gift-giving tradition.

A person who jump-started the gift-giving traditions at Christmas was good old Saint Nicholas. He was known for giving gifts.

Christmas presents as we know them today actually started in America. Itâ??s been a longtime tradition to give little gifts to friends and family, but the massive giving that goes on nowadays is a creation all our own.

In the early 1800s stores and companies started advertising Christmas gifts. By the 1840s, the tradition of lavish giving was fully ingrained into American society.

Giving gifts to those we love is in sync with the true spirit of Christmas. So let the Christmas presents roll – itâ??s a wonderful time of year.

Youâ??ve probably gotten at least one Christmas letter in your life. Some people love them, others hate them. When did the tradition begin?

The first actual Christmas letter was probably written hundreds of years ago. The tradition of sending â??greetingsâ? to family members over the holidays has been around longer than the actual â??greeting cardâ? so itâ??s safe to say that Christmas letters were the original â??Christmas greetingâ? of choice.

Itâ??s important to note that Christmas letters as we know them today is a pretty recent development. Once greeting cards were made available actual â??lettersâ? to family and friends fell to the wayside. Thanks to copy machines and at-home printers, thatâ??s all changed.

I received my first two Christmas letters in the 90s. One I loved and the other I hated. One was full of warm wishes and holiday cheer, the other was filled with â??I did thatâ? and â??we did thisâ? nonstop bragging.

Iâ??m under the impression that the â??oh Iâ??m wonderfulâ? Christmas letter tradition started in the 90s too. Personally, I prefer the less-bragging more thanking and rejoicing Christmas letter approach. Itâ??s probably more in line with the traditional Christmas letters of yesteryear.

So this year if you decide to write a Christmas letter, remember that you are doing something that was done well before greeting cards or Hallmark were ever invented. And please, for the sake of sanity, make it a â??How wonderful is Heâ? letter and not a â??How wonderful am Iâ? holiday correspondence.

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