Christmas Gift Giving Superstitions:
It was at one time considered bad luck to give a
pair of scissors or a knife as a gift because it was feared that the act would "cut" the friendship in half. Therefore,
knives were especially never given as wedding gifts, as it was believed they would lead to a broken marriage.
Also, never give anyone a pair of shoes as a Christmas gift because
they would make the person you give them to walk away from you.
When you give someone a gift of a wallet or purse, be sure to
put some money into it, even if only a coin, to ward off bad luck.
At one time, bakers would throw in an extra roll when you
bought a dozen as a
"gift" in case any of the other rolls were too small. This "gift" became known as the
baker's dozen.
Gift Giving Urban Legends:
Legends are told as having happened long, long ago, whereas Urban
Legends are set in contemporary times and told as having happened to people known either personally to the teller or to someone
known by a person the teller knows.
The places and names change as they are updated to fit current
times and the story often may carry a warning or lesson of some sort.
There may even be some truth to the story although the people
and places have been changed so many times that it becomes hard to determine what the truth actually was.
One such tale recounts a rich king's offer of a gift to
a famous golfer who, after first declining the gift, asks only for a golf club to add to his collection. Back at home, he
waits and wonders what kind of golf club the king might give him -- maybe a solid gold putter with his name engraved
on it, or maybe a sand wedge studded with diamonds and jewels. After several weeks, he receives a certified letter from the
king, which he thinks is rather strange, wondering where his golf club is. To his surprise, inside the envelope he discovers
a deed to a 500-acre golf course!
In several different legends, although the people and circumstances
change, the story and its warning are the same....
A son (nephew, daughter, niece...) is expecting a very expensive
gift (car, house, inheritance...) from his father (uncle, aunt...) but instead receives a Bible. In a fit of anger, he throws
the Bible at the giver and leaves, not returning until the giver's death when he notices the Bible from so long ago. He then opens
it and finds the (key to the car, check to the car dealer, will leaving him everything, etc.). (Here is one more detailed
version of the tale on Snopes.)
Then there are the one-up-manship legends.
Two or more siblings vie to get the best gift for their mother
(houses, cars, jewels) with one going to great expense to get a bird (myna, parrot...) that has been specially trained (to
read the Bible, sing opera, speak Italian...). The mother politely thanks all (while letting them know their gift wasn't
very practical) then speaks proudly of the child who had the sense to bring her the delicious chicken for their
meal together.
There is also a true story of two brothers who re-gifted the same
pair of pants back and forth, wrapped in very creative ways from rolling them into a 3' long 1" wide pipe to stuffing them
into the glove compartment of a car that they then had crushed and delivered in time for Christmas. The pants went back
and forth for 25 years before they finally fell apart. (You can read all the details at Snopes!)
