The story of Secret Santa lends meaning to gifting

It has been more than  two weeks since the most loved month of the year has commenced. December, being almost synonymous to Christmas, never fails to impress. The vibrant Christian community in India has helped maintain the essence of the celebration.

It’s the month of blueberry muffins, hot chocolate with cinnamon, Christmas candies, chilly rushes, merry vibes and most importantly, random gifts. Hence, one of the most exhilarating traditions of Christmas, ‘The Secret Santa’ is for all the folks out there who love receiving and giving presents.

Secret Santa is a Western tradition whereby people give gifts to each other anonymously. Its inception, however, is not as well-known. The original Secret Santa is a man called Larry Dean Steart, an American philanthropist from the 60s.

He wasn’t always wealthy, and after graduating college, he spent  many days living in a car in Houston, Texas. One time when he was particularly hungry, he ate at a restaurant, and pretended to have forgotten his wallet. The owner realised that he was penniless, and gave him a 20 dollar bill saying “you must have dropped this.” Steart was really touched. A year later and a week before Christmas, he was unemployed again.

As he stopped by to pick something to eat, he saw a person without any coat in the freezing weather. He then gave a 20 dollar bill to him. Soon after, he was offered a job by his cousin in Kansas city.

Not only during Christmas, but throughout the year, Steart went on carrying out such random acts of kindness, anonymously. He also donated a large amount of money to the New Yorkers during the 9/11 terror attacks.
He had donated 1.6 million dollars in total.It was in 2006 that Steart’s incognito lock was opened and finally he came out as the “Secret Santa” about whom everybody was wondering about.

In the United States, the tradition of giving gifts anonymously to people is called Secret Santa. Indians are largely familiar to the tradition by that name. But did you know that in various other countries the tradition is known by completely different names? For a fact, in the United Kingdom it’s called Kris Kringle. In Ireland, Kris Kindle (which means Christ child). In Germany, it’s called wichteln (which means goblin or elf). This tradition has been adopted in a big way in workplaces, colleges and amongst friends and family across India. With the digital sector paving its way into our lives, there are now Secret Santa websites and applications where we can play the game virtually.

Secret Santa is not just about giving presents to people, it’s also about being generous and kind to people, it’s about helping the needy.

Christmas is right around the corner. This is our cue, as a society to give back to our near and dear ones. It would be nice if we all grabbed a gift to carve a smile across somebody’s face.

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