Let's look into the wise men's gifts and the significance they represented: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (Matthew 2) The was in an article in the Saturday Evening Post, Donald Culross Peattie explaining the significance of these gifts presented to the Christ-child by the Magi.

Gold is one of the noble metals. No single acid can destroy it, nor will it rust away, like iron or tin … No one can successfully imitate or fake gold, so heavy and incorruptible is it. And it is a metal easily turned to the uses of beauty. It has been woven into fabrics at least since Biblical times (Exodus 39:2–3), for its ductility, as chemists say, is so great that a single grain of fine gold can be drawn out into a wire 1/1000 of an inch in diameter, extending for a length of about one mile. Pure, supple, almost indestructible, gold is indeed a royal metal … The expert hammer of the goldbeater, whose ancient art is referred to by Homer, can beat an ounce of gold into a sheet two hundred feet square, a mere shimmering film.… In the ancient world into which Christianity was born, gold was far rarer than now.

Incense was made from an expensive and elaborate formula, containing sixteen different ingredients, with only priests allowed to concoct it. And the chief element in this holy recipe was frankincense, the second gift of the wise men to the Child. Frankincense is a resin, from a kind of tree held so sacred of old that in southern Arabia and Ethiopia, where it grew, only a few particularly pure persons were allowed even to approach it.… To obtain the precious frankincense itself, an Arab cuts a slash in the trunk, as a Vermonter cuts a maple, and then strips off a narrow piece of bark, about five inches long, below the cut. The sap slowly oozes out and is allowed to harden for about three months. At last it is collected in lumps, to be shipped from such strange and faraway places as Berbera and Aden, near the mouth of the Red Sea, and Bombay. These lumps are yellow or colorless, dusty-looking, with a bitter taste. But they burn with a bright white flame, and then there arises to heaven that sweet, heavenly perfume of mystery the Wise Men thought pleasing to God.

Myrrh is a shrub related to frankincense, of the genus Commiphora. The sap of myrrh is extracted in the same way as that of frankincense, and it comes in small lumps of reddish-brown resin. But its symbolism is more somber. The word myrrh comes from the Hebrew mar, meaning "bitter.” The ancient Egyptians used this resin in embalming, and hence its connection with solemn occasion. (In an article by Donald Culross Peattie)

Here's something else that's interesting; did you know that in Spain, Christmas gifts are not exchanged until January 6—for a very good reason. That is the date commemorating the visit of the Magi, who were the first to offer Christmas gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. On that night, children set their shoes outside on the doorstep, filling them with straw for the camels. They believe the wise men will use the straw to feed their camels and in return fill the shoes with gifts and candy.

Did you know that our word Christmas comes from the English observance of the birth of Christ called Christes masse (Christ's mass), because a special mass was celebrated on that day. In France, it's known as Noel; in Spain, Navidad; and in Italy, Natale—all those words meaning simply birthday. The Germans use the word Weihnachten, meaning holy nights.

Here's a little history on the custom of sending Christmas cards that began in 1843 when a wealthy Englishman, Sir Henry Cole, ran out of time to write personal letters to his friends at Christmas. He commissioned an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card instead. Horsley drew a picture of a group of merry-wishers raising their glasses in toast. Underneath were the words, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” The card created much controversy, as critics complained it encouraged holiday drinking. But the custom of sending cards at Christmas caught on nonetheless.

During the early days of Christianity, different parts of the world celebrated Christmas on different dates. If you traveled widely in the Roman world, you could conceivably enjoy six different Christmases in the span of a single year. It was Pope Julius I in the mid-fourth century who appointed a monk named Dionysius to set up a calendar standardizing a universal date, which came to be December 25.

Candy canes were reportedly developed by a Christian candy maker in Indiana who built the story of Christmas into each piece. The hardness of the candy represents the solid rock of the Christian faith. The white represents the sinlessness of Christ, and the red stripes symbolize the bloody wounds caused by his flogging. The shape of the candy is that of a shepherd's staff, representing Christ as our Good Shepherd. Turned upside down, it forms the letter "J”—for Jesus.

So I hope that as you celebrate this Christmas there is a greater understanding of its history and traditions that are valued so much and trust that you preserve then for this next generation that follows us. Without the light of Jesus, we would be in the dark about God.