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Sunday, 17 July 2005  
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Gift giving

by Ranga Chandraratne

From stone age-man to the modern man the tradition of gift giving was practised among diverse communities and even among tribes. Gift giving is a means of expressing one's feelings towards one another.

However, the value and the emotion that goes with the gift, differs from occasion to occasion and from individual to individual. It ranges from expressions of appreciation to the most intimate expression of love. With the advent of the market economy and consumerism across the globe, the tradition of gift giving also came under its influence and now it becomes, more or less, a social norm shedding its intrinsic value.

Global conglomerates, Legal firms, Advertising firms and Hotels have made use of this tradition to please and retain their clientele.

It has also become a means to express one's social status, wealth and class. From expensive suites to various types of memorabilia are being presented as gifts. Some practise this tradition in public by presenting large number of gifts to the needy on particular occasions to impress others, while others do it for pleasure or on religious grounds. However, the most valuable gift is the gift that a true lover presents to his sweet heart it might be a chocolate or a beautiful flower.

Weddings, parties, specials occasions like birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are some of the occasions that gifts are exchanged worldwide in true spirit and as a token of appreciation of another. These gifts that are presented in a true spirit, help often to cement broken relationship and to make ties with others, specially, with one's own kith and kin.

"It is always pleasant to see somebody happy and gift giving is one way of making somebody happy. I enjoy it, specially, on Christmas and Valentine Days. We exchange gifts on special occasions like New Year and birthdays of family members. For us, what is important is not the thing that we get as a gift but the act of gift giving which is an expression of one's feelings towards another. I still wear the necklace that my father gifted me on my 16th birthday" says Nishara Wijeratne (18).

"I think that it is tradition worth keeping alive. I still could remember vividly the day I was given a bicycle by my father when I won the class prize for English. I still use it occasionally. On Valentine's Day, I exchange a gift with my sweet heart. Often I buy a T-shirt for her.

She also presents me with a shirt. It helps me to maintain our relationship and gives a tremendous boost to our relationship. We also exchange gifts on New Year and Christmas days. It is in our family and on Christmas Eve, we visit our grandparents, who are in Nuwara Eliya, their eyes shine with excitement when I give them gifts, new clothes. I will never forget their expression of pleasure," says Chamin Fonseka (21) who is preparing for the Advanced Level Examination next year.

"I do not care very much about gift giving, though I practise it out of respect to parents. After all, I could not antagonize them. As the only child of the family, I have a responsibility by them to practise a tradition that even my grandparents appreciate. Gift giving is one of the principle elements in our religion that is Islam.

The Ramadan, the season of fasting, ends with parcels of food being distributed among the neighbours irrespective of their religious beliefs. A true devotee of Islam should help poor neighbours with giving what they need without letting the receiver know who made the gift. This is the ideal gift," says Rahim Mustapha, a teenager I met at Majestic City.

"It is a wonderful tradition that God gave us. God sent to the world His only begotten son Jesus Christ as the greatest gift to redeem mankind of sin. The tradition of gift giving starts from the Holy Bible. According to the Bible, Gifts given with the right hand should not be known by the left. This is why Santa will leave gifts for children on thresholds on Christmas Eve. We, Christians, on numerous occasions, exchange gifts as a token of appreciation of one another" said Christina Ferdinadaz from Wattala.

"Buddhists consider material things as a burden. If you possess many valuables, the need to protect them should also arise and finally it is a burden to keep them. Buddha, who had all the worldly comforts, renounced them in search of the supreme truth. According to Buddhism, a gift has real meanings only if the gift is given with the heart and mind. Dana is the Buddhist term for gift giving. Dana is practised by Buddhists not only to accumulate merit but also to practise generosity. "Said a novice Burmese Bhikku Ukamsa Chara, I met at Aquinas College and who is following a Course of Study at the Pali and Buddhist University and on student's Visa.

"We send gifts and hampers to our clients. It helps us to keep up a good rapport with them. The business of Advertising depends largely on a dedicated clientele. We also send gifts to prospective clients on special occasions.

You might say that it is an exploitation of tradition, but it gives an excellent opportunity to show our sincerity to our clients. Specially made gift items bearing the company logo that they would always be memorabilia to our clients", said young the Advertising Executive who wished to be anonymous for obvious reasons.


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