Why did chanukah become the gift giving chag?

amother

↑ Dandelion

Yesterday at 4:16 pm

amother Bisque 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.

So you are my fathers age and he also got gifts as a child. Gifts are not new.

amother

Daffodil

Yesterday at 10:58 pm

amother OP wrote:

But so what? It should make no difference. I always knew that x-mas was very near, time wise to chanukah. But I always knew that that was their holday and not mine. It never occurred to me that we should get presents. It had nothing to do with chanukah.

Peer pressure. My sisters kids get amaaaaazzzing gifts every night of Chanuka so we had to do at least one big gift and then other treats the other nights. We skip the first night as the newness of lighting the Menorah, eating latkas and playing dreidel is enough and the promise of a big gift on the second night, kept the kids happy. We skip Friday night and Motzai Shabbos as well. There are always family parties where they get some treat from a grandparent, so that takes care of 2 more nights.
Somehow we end up not the cheapest but not the most extravagant- exactly where we want to be.

B'Syata D'Shmya

Yesterday at 11:01 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.

Toy industry came up with it. Like the card industry came up with giving Birthday Cards etc.
And if you grew up in the 70s, please tell me you did not get a new gift every night of Chanuka - unless your parents were wealthy.

nylon

Today at 12:37 am

I grew up traditional but not frum (so public school, etc) in the 1980s and we got gifts. It wasn't always 8, but what my parents would do was there would be several presents and we would do one each night. Some were small, you would get one or two bigger presents (depending on just how big they were). My grandparents gave us gelt.

I give gifts, but nothing huge. I have non-Jewish friends and what some of their kids get, I can't believe.

amother

↑ Dahlia

Today at 12:44 am

B'Syata D'Shmya wrote:

Even now who gets one every night?

amother

Broom

Today at 12:44 am

amother OP wrote:

No other chag is like that.
The only thing I can think of is that it comes out around x-mas time and people in countries that also celebrate x-mas did not want their children to feel left out.
But that must be a recent thing. I grew up in america, with no gift giving. We got a chocolate macabee every night and we played dreidel and ate latkes.

But why the gift giving? its not x-mas.

Not everyone does this. Our kids get some gelt. That's it.

amother

↑ Wine

Today at 12:49 am

amother Dahlia wrote:

Even now who gets one every night?

One gift in the $20 range per kid.

Then it's treats or tchatchkes other nights. Just for the festivity. Like a treat at the end of a scavenger hunt, a family gift found by unwrapping a large box in a pass the ball-spin the dreidel game, gag gifts, and more.

Fun, gifts and good memories.

amother

Amethyst

Today at 12:56 am

I think it started years back when it was common for Jewish children to go to public school and to be friendly with their non Jewish neighbors. The non Jews had xmas and the Jews had Chanukah. Chanukah gifts were given so that the Jewish children would be happy to celebrate Chanukah and to prevent them from being jealous of their neighbors and chv wanting to celebrate Xmas instead …

miami85

Today at 12:57 am

It is supposed to be a gift to honor the Torah learning of the children. So I try that each night is "sponsored" by a different family member who is proud of them. Our gift to our children is usually the last night. But sometimes, especially Friday night it's usually chocolate gelt or a party with cousins.