Gift
This page is about gifts in the common English-language sense. For other uses, see gift (disambiguation).
A gift or present is the transfer of money or goods without requiring something in return (at least not immediately); by extension it can be anything that makes the other more happy or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness, and kindness (even when the other is not kind).
The background may be:
- someone has more than another
- something bad happened to another
- expression of love or friendship
- expression of gratitude for a gift received
- custom, on occasions (often celebrations) such as
- a birthday (the person who has his or her birthday gives cake, etc. and/or receives gifts)
- Father's Day (the father receives gifts)
- Mother's Day (the mother receives gifts)
- Christmas (people give each other gifts, often supposedly receiving them from Santa Claus)
- Saint Nicholas (people give each other gifts, often supposedly receiving them from Saint Nicholas)
- a wedding (the couple receives gifts and gives food and/or drinks at the wedding reception)
- a funeral (visitors bring flowers, the relatives of the deceased give food and/or drinks after the ceremonial part)
- a birth (the baby receives gifts)
- passing an examination (the student receives gifts)
- supplying food and/or drinks to someone invited in the home
- giving a round of drinks in a bar.
- lagniappe
The extent to which the clause "without requiring something in return" really applies may vary. Reciprocity is common and often socially almost compulsory. Some economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy.
Gifts are an important element of Chinese social relations and the act of mutually exchanging gifts is intended to increasing social cohesion.
A gift can also be a special talent or ability that was not earned through the usual amount of long and difficult practice but instead comes easily to the recipient in a natural way. A person with such a gift is said to be "a natural" or "gifted" in that field of endeavor. A gift, in this sense, can be thought of as being given by God or by nature: a God-given or natural gift received by one at birth. A fluent and entertaining speaker is said to have "the gift of gab".
See also
Further reading
- Marcel Mauss and W.D. Halls, Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies, W. W. Norton, 2000, trade paperback, ISBN 039332043X
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