Notes from Toyland: 100 years of Toys and Games in Montana

Giving toys

Gift-giving holidays are widespread. Muslim children receive gifts of money at Eid al-Fitr, the final day of Ramadan. Jewish families exchange gifts on Purim. Christian families exchange gifts on Christmas, often slightly luxurious or frivolous objects. Many Indigenous nations in Northwestern North America hold Potlatch ceremonies, where a family or an individual gives gifts to the rest of village to celebrate an important event.

 
Today, it is common practice among families who celebrate Christmas to give toys to children for the holiday, but this was not always the case. Until the late 1800s, most children received sweets, nuts, and little trinkets. The more important "gift" was that rules were relaxed during the holiday and children had more freedom to play than usual. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, parents shifted to giving their children toys instead. This was encouraged by stores and toy-makers. Department stores set up yearly Toyland departments around Christmas, where even children whose parents could not or would not buy them toys could come to look at the wonders on offer.
Christmas has become part of the culture of the United States. As a result, many non-Christian families still give their children presents during the winter holiday season. Most prominently, some Jewish families give their children gifts on Hanukkah. Traditionally, people exchange gelt, or money during the holiday. Gelt was historically given to teachers and rabbis, who refused payment at any other time. In the 1900s the custom shifted, and the gelt went to children instead. Today, Hanukkah gelt is usually chocolate rather than gold. The American tradition of giving Christmas-style gifts to children took off in the 1950s, as a way to help Jewish children feel proud of their heritage rather than jealous of their Christian peers.

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