Why did chanukah become the gift giving chag?

amother

Razzmatazz

Yesterday at 10:53 am

In our house it happened because we were always tight financially Pesach-time and the way my work paydays are set up we got an "extra" check holiday time. So my kids knew they had to wait for their afikomen until December, and they never complained when all their friends got afikomen gifts in April and they got theirs in December.

amother

↑ Offwhite

Yesterday at 10:53 am

I'm curious if Israelis give Chanukah gifts. ? If it came from Xmas they prob would not

amother

Thistle

Yesterday at 10:54 am

amother Zinnia wrote:

Yes, so agree with this. Never grew up with Chanukah presents, only gelt, and not planning for my kids to have it either.

Also the increasing encroachment of Xmas "minhagim", like decorations, Mystery Macabee, cookie swaps, etc.

And gift exchanges. Ugh. "Bring a wrapped gift." So they get your unwanted junk and you get their unwanted junk. I just can't.

amother

Mistyrose

Yesterday at 11:14 am

Because its a non jewish concept that frum proprietors realized they can earn a bomb if they advertise and make it a thing

Success10

Yesterday at 11:20 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

I'm curious if Israelis give Chanukah gifts. ? If it came from Xmas they prob would not

Toy sales being advertised everywhere. In Chareidi areas. It’s a thing here.

amother

Springgreen

Yesterday at 11:33 am

It definitely has been shaped by Xmas to a degree.

Still, it didn't begin out of nothing but copying...

Lots of people buy new toy gifts for every yom tov to make it special-er.

& We have gifts -

Afikomen

Kind of - shalach manos / costumes

And chanukah was already around dreidel/ coins

I'm no rabbi, just my observations.

amother

↑ Zinnia

Yesterday at 11:41 am

Found a fascinating footnote on the sources for Chanukah gelt https://halachipedia.com/index.....te-20

shabbatiscoming ↓

Yesterday at 11:47 am

amother Offwhite wrote:

I'm curious if Israelis give Chanukah gifts. ? If it came from Xmas they prob would not

Not in my circles, nope.

amother

Mustard

Yesterday at 11:48 am

Our Minhag is to specifically be makpid to give actual gelt. Kids get real gelt and chocolate gelt, and sometimes my husband adds in cute dreidels or small Chanukah themed chatchkes, plus there's donuts... Plenty of fun!

amother

Ginger

Yesterday at 11:48 am

amother Thistle wrote:

And gift exchanges. Ugh. "Bring a wrapped gift." So they get your unwanted junk and you get their unwanted junk. I just can't.

Hate hate hate chanuka gifts! There's already too much junk in my tiny house from all the years of gifting. Would love chanuka gelts so my kids can start saving money. Another Xmas minhag- matching pajama Wink

amother

Bisque ↓

Yesterday at 2:50 pm

From chabad.org

https://www.chabad.org/theJewi.....m.htm

From what I've seen, both chanukah gift giving and xmas gifts evolved at the same time more or less.

↑ shabbatiscoming ↓

Yesterday at 2:57 pm

amother Bisque wrote:

From chabad.org

https://www.chabad.org/theJewi.....m.htm

From what I've seen, both chanukah gift giving and xmas gifts evolved at the same time more or less.

x-mas gifts have been around for MUCH longer than chanukah gifts have been a things, much much longer.

kneidelmeidel

Yesterday at 3:25 pm

Love having excuses to buy our kids gifts, we specifically give yom tov time so that they have positive associations with yom tov.

amother

Phlox ↓

Yesterday at 3:38 pm

There was a big thread on this last year, but I’ll repeat what I said then

My great grandparents (and great aunts and uncles from my other side) all had gift giving in their community on Chanukah growing up as their parents had growing up too, before giving gifts on xmas was even introduced. It had nothing to do with xmas and came before then and became a thing as an expansion of gelt which mostly had the purpose of keeping kids excited and eager over this long holiday

amother

↑ Phlox

Yesterday at 3:40 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

x-mas gifts have been around for MUCH longer than chanukah gifts have been a things, much much longer.

This maybe depends on the area. In areas of Europe, and definitely the US, this isn’t true at all

amother

Firebrick

Yesterday at 3:47 pm

I agree with you OP.
I will say that I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and my very chassidish grandparents hosted a Chanuka party each year and gave gifts to all the kids. I have vivid memories of my grandmother sitting in her chair, with a large garbage bag in front of her, handing out gifts. The kids lined up, oldest to youngest and each one received a gift.
So I don't agree that it's a "new" thing.

I don't hand out gifts to my kids, but they receive gelt from their grandparents. Sometimes my mother sends small chanuka activities that the kids enjoy doing after lighting.

↑ shabbatiscoming

Yesterday at 3:51 pm

amother Phlox wrote:

This maybe depends on the area. In areas of Europe, and definitely the US, this isn’t true at all

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, in america. We did not do gifts. It was not a thing, not with my parents, nor grandparents and none of my friends either.
x-mas gifts was definitely a thing well before then.

amother

Wine ↓

Yesterday at 3:55 pm

amother Firebrick wrote:

Same here. It was a gantze shpiel. Then my father took it up a notch and aside from the chanukah gift he came home every night of chanukah with a specialty. Chanukah gifts were always big in our chassidishe family.

amother

↑ Bisque

Yesterday at 4:10 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I grewc up in the 70's and we got chanukah gifts.

I had heard that chanukah gifts came first. Then xmas took it from us, and we switched to giving gelt so as not to be like the xtians. No idea if thats true or not, but obviously, if there are great grandparents who were giving gifts, it is a custom for some.