The wrapping of presents is as much a part of the pre-Christmas preparations as putting up the tree with its fairy lights – but where did the tradition start? This blog will explain why we wrap our festive gifts in decorative paper each year.
Although the idea of giving each other gifts at this time of the year dates back as far as the Roman festival of Saturnalia, wrapping them is a more recent tradition. Like much of the festive rituals we take for granted, it has its roots in the Victorian era, as Queen Victoria herself made both Christmas trees and wrapped presents underneath them a popular notion.
This wrapping was a lot different to what we see nowadays, however. Rather than special paper decorated with Christmas imagery, people used wooden boxes covered with basic cloth. It took until the following century for the idea of real festive wrapping paper for gifts to take off.
What led to this was the emergence of Christmas as a commercial juggernaut. Department stores in the big cities began to display presents wrapped in attractive paper as a way to entice customers. The underlying rationale behind it was that this kind of fancy wrapping paper made the actual presents feel more magical. Clearly, it convinced the general public, because festive wrapping paper soon became a standard part of the gift-giving process.
It’s hard to argue with the idea that it’s nicer to receive a gift presented to us in this way than a plain wooden box!
