Historians are often very wise people. I know this because I am one. Historians are wise because they have access to far deeper reservoirs of experience. They learn from the centuries of experience of other people. As someone said, “Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.”

One of the other historians I have come to know a little bit and appreciate a great deal is Gerry Bowler. Gerry has become a recognized expert on Christmas. He has written several books on the subject, including a biography of Santa Claus (actually, a history of the idea of Santa Claus).

One of the aspects of Christmas that I learned from reading Gerry’s work was the history of giving. From its beginning, the Christian church has encouraged and practiced giving to the poor and needy. However, things have changed in recent centuries:

• Originally, people in “Christian” countries gave gifts to the poor and needy.

• Then, as the world moved into the early modern era (after 1500 or so) society and priorities changed, and so did practices. Increasingly, wealthy people did not give to the poor and needy in general but to their own servants and employees, those in their own households. This practice still endures in many companies, which give their employees Christmas bonuses, Christmas turkeys, or Christmas banquets.

• In the 1800s, with the development of the idea of Santa Claus, there was a proliferation of children’s books and children’s toys. The focus of Christmas giving was still restricted to the household, but now the gifts were given to the parents’ own children, and not the servants and employees. This is still the central focus of much Christmas giving throughout the Western world.

• In very recent years, another shift has been taking place, with the emergence of Boxing Day sales. Now, a lot of the Christmas buying occurs after Christmas, as people go out to buy presents for themselves

The narrowing of Christmas giving is disturbing and haunting. The coming of Jesus at the first Christmas was “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). But increasingly our focus has shifted from the whole world to our households, to our families, and finally to ourselves. This increasing selfishness is the opposite of what God intended when He sent the ultimate gift, His Son and our Savior, Jesus.