If we were to encourage only altruistic acts that come from pure love, few people would have children or get married, almost no gifts would ever be exchanged, and goodness would essentially come to an end. It is none of my business to judge why other people give Christmas gifts. It is only for me to appreciate the fact that they do.
And what about children? Various religious commentators warn that children will lose the real meaning of Christmas or Chanukah if they associate it with getting gifts. This is another corker. What child who waited all year and then all Christmas Eve to see what he or she would get for Christmas thought primarily about the theological implications of Christmas? Isn't it enough that some of the happiest memories of a Christian child are associated with one of the two holiest days of the Christian calendar? Would it really religiously benefit a child to receive no gifts on the day celebrating the birth of Jesus?
I received the biggest gifts of my childhood on Passover. My grandfather gave me expensive gifts (like a portable typewriter) for "stealing the afikoman," a ritual of sheer bribery devised by the rabbis many centuries ago to keep children awake as long as possible through the lengthy Passover Seder. Believe me, I thought a lot more about what I would get if I stole Papa's "afikoman," the matzo set aside for dessert, than I did about God liberating the Jewish slaves. But the "commercialism" of the Seder eventually worked, and I came to love Passover and believe that God took the Jews out of Egypt.
Finally, dear critics, Christmas is greatly honored by all the gift giving. Would you rather see gift giving associated with Halloween, for example? Wouldn't that signify that this society had now become overwhelmingly secular, if not pagan?
When you buy Christmas gifts, you bring joy to the recipients, you feel good about giving, you have spent time thinking about what the recipients would like, you keep many businesses alive, and most of all, you honor the holiday. It is incredible that all this is not obvious to everyone who cares about Christmas and about American society.