Despite the bug, our family decided to get together anyway (some of us wore surgical masks to protect ourselves or others), and we exchanged a small mountain of gifts. In both giving and receiving gifts, we each experienced a good deal of happiness. Receiving gifts can make us happy for the obvious reason that we got something that, in a few if not many ways, is desirable, but also for the reason of knowing that someone thought of you in a kind way and made a sacrifice on your behalf. Whether the gift and sacrifice were big or small, it's good to know that you're loved.
When giving gifts, the joy come from being glad, and perhaps relieved, when the receiver likes the gift you gave them. Making or selecting a good gift for someone often takes talent, so there's a sense of accomplishment when we succeed at that. But the greater joy of giving comes in seeing how happy the receiver is with the gift. When other people are happy, especially when we've made them happy, then we feel happier, too.
In previous blog posts, I didn't have much good to say about the tradition of presents, probably at least partly because I was feeling stressed about trying to find and make some, but now that I've seen the joy that can come from giving and receiving gifts, I can see why the tradition has endured. It's not just commercialism and greed. There are a lot of genuinely good feelings that surround a Christmas tree when people give and appreciate material expressions of love. They may be just things, but they're things that make people happy, and happiness is worth sharing.
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