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Summary and Objective
Through examining letters and images of gift-giving from Christmas celebrations in the late nineteenth century and comparing these with current holiday gift giving practices in the United States and around the world, students will begin to understand that gift-giving customs and traditions are developed within cultures to meet the needs of societies.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Lead students in a discussion of the type of gifts they receive and for what occasions. Make a list of the gifts discussed and the occasions celebrated with gifts.
Step 2.
View "Hanging Stockings." Indicate to students that this image is from the 19th century. Ask students to describe the image and to predict the types of gifts the children in the photograph might receive for Christmas.
Step 3.
Explain to students that historically, children were considered to be like small adults with the same value to a family as the servants, according to Stephen Nissenbaum in his book, "The Battle for Christmas." Giving gifts at Christmas began during the years 1825 to 1836 with the development of gift books, collections of stories, poems, and essays decorated with beautiful illustrations. Visit the Open Library website listed below to view an example of a gift book for children from 1868.
Step 4.
Read the "Letter to Emily Bartlett from cousin Eunice Sherman Tabor Regarding Christmas." Make a list of the gifts she received.
Step 5.
View photographs of marbles, bowling pins, the doll "Lilla," and the photograph of a "Little Girl and Doll at a 'Tea Party.'" Read the accompanying text with each image.
Step 6.
Ask students to compare the gifts they receive with the gifts Eunice was given for Christmas and the images of toys from the American Centuries website. Lead a discussion about how students learn about toys they desire, through advertising. Tell students that because of the popularity of gift books in the early 19th century, book sellers began to advertise in newspapers to get people to choose their gift books. Have children view the example of an advertisement for children's books at the bottom of the page of the Rare Maps and Books website listed below, and compare this advertisement to the advertisements they see in magazines and on television. (Stephen Nissenbaum's "The Battle for Christmas" is a good resource for teachers about the development of gift-giving at Christmas.)
Step 7.
Visit the mazornet.com website referenced below to read about the tradition of giving "gelt" at Chanukah. Read about Mexican Christmas pinatas for children at the website listed below. Read about gift-giving practices during the Muslim holiday Eid Al Fitr at the Fun Social Studies website listed in step 8. Read about gift-giving on Chinese New Year at the website also listed in step 8. Discuss how gift-giving practices are the same and different in various cultures.
Step 8.
The Fun Social Studies website is http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/eid.htm
Information about gift giving at Chinese New Year can be found at http://www.straitscafe.com/recipes/gongxi.htm
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