Every child who celebrates Christmas during the winter anticipates one event above all others: the opening of presents. I remember staying up all night the day before Christmas shaking with eagerness, wondering what type of toys I would be bestowed in the morning. As a general overview, Christmas is a winter holiday celebrated in late December in many American cultures. During Christmas, gifts are given through a variety of means such as an overnight visit from an impersonated Santa, a secret admirer, and many more. Gifts also vary from cheap clothing all the way to expensive jewelry. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, a gift is “something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.” With such a mysterious range of gifts, it is no wonder
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I will begin by considering past research completed over Christmas trends and games. Next, I will introduce my findings of how a freshman student at Indiana University celebrates and exchanges her gifts. In addition, I will provide examples from my own family’s Christmas that are unique to other families. Finally, I will provide a brief overview of my key findings in the research I have concluded.
To begin one must understand there many reasons people celebrate Christmas. Although the religious aspect of Christmas is a major reason it is celebrated, I will focus on the gift exchange aspect instead. One study of Christmas in America was performed and written by Theodore Caplow titled “Christmas Gifts and Kin Networks.” In the study Caplow found that most gifts shared on Christmas in an America town are either clothes (35%) or toys (10%) with many smaller percentages on other gifts. During his research Caplow stated, “Middletown people are expected to give a Christmas gift every year to their grandparents, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, and to all siblings and siblings’ spouses with whom they have an
I will begin by considering past research completed over Christmas trends and games. Next, I will introduce my findings of how a freshman student at Indiana University celebrates and exchanges her gifts. In addition, I will provide examples from my own family’s Christmas that are unique to other families. Finally, I will provide a brief overview of my key findings in the research I have concluded.
To begin one must understand there many reasons people celebrate Christmas. Although the religious aspect of Christmas is a major reason it is celebrated, I will focus on the gift exchange aspect instead. One study of Christmas in America was performed and written by Theodore Caplow titled “Christmas Gifts and Kin Networks.” In the study Caplow found that most gifts shared on Christmas in an America town are either clothes (35%) or toys (10%) with many smaller percentages on other gifts. During his research Caplow stated, “Middletown people are expected to give a Christmas gift every year to their grandparents, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, and to all siblings and siblings’ spouses with whom they have an