Unwrapped
What’s Really Behind the Paper and Bows.
The candles are glowing, the Christmas music is playing softly on my husband’s phone. The kids have all packed up their gifts and gone home, and the house is quiet. Peaking from underneath my husband’s chair is a scrap of wrapping paper and a shiny red bow. Somehow they got missed when we cleaned up after the gift-giving session on Christmas day.
Don’t you love watching people unwrap the gifts you gave them?
Our youngest granddaughter carefully pulls the paper from her gifts, strip by little strip, as though she wants to extend the process. My grandson, not so much. A glance at the name tag, a tug on the bow, and RIP! —the treasure inside is revealed. Each person has their own method, it seems, for opening gifts.
Have you ever wondered about the custom of wrapping gifts? According to some people, the modern version of wrapping paper originated in 1917 with the Hall brothers who later founded the Hallmark company. But the practice of wrapping a gift actually dates back a couple thousand years before that in some Asian cultures.
But why is it such a big deal?
Anticipation…
I imagine the whole practice came about because people wanted to surprise someone when they offered a gift. I mean, doesn’t unwrapping chocolate add to the pleasure of receiving it? Of course it does. If someone you know walked up to you and handed you an unwrapped chocolate, wouldn’t you wonder where it had been? You might even choose not to eat it. Wrapped, now, that’s another story. When someone hands you a wrapped chocolate? That’s a gift.
The way I look at it, though, surprise is the least of what the wrapping adds. It offers a chance to unwrap. And unwrapping? Well, that adds a little mystique, a little wonder, a little excitement. Anticipation. And anticipation, that cousin of hope, is the thing that draws us forward, inspires us to keep going—
To discover exactly what the wrapping hides...
Wishes…
The ones listed hopefully on a piece of paper and sent to the North Pole, or slipped into a lover’s wallet, or captured on a cell phone to be referred to later. But those aren’t the only wishes hidden inside the colorful paper and ribbons. The wishes of the giver are wrapped in there as well.
We might have wrapped a game, with a wish that they will pause from their work for a while to spend quality time with their family. A book—a wish that they will take the time to feed their brain or their soul or their hearts. Tools or supplies for their hobbies, wishing them a chance to reconnect with their own creativity, to remember who they are, and not only what role they are trying to fill in their jobs.
Understanding…
The problem with surprises is that they aren’t always pleasant. And finding an unpleasant surprise wrapped in a beautiful disguise happens all the time. But the best surprise of all is when you unwrap a gift that shows just how thoroughly someone understands who you truly are. It’s not the material object that matters. Objects can break, or wear out, or get lost.
The knowledge that someone knows who you really are, underneath all your wrapping? That’s the greatest gift.
So now, it’s done. Christmas itself is all unwrapped. The songs have been sung, the goodies stirred and stuffed, the tree and all the other trimmings admired and enjoyed. Time to put it all away.
Or is it?
Because if there is something Christmas is not meant to be, it’s wrapped back up and stowed away at the end of December. The best of what it has to offer is all there to take with you into the new year.
Surprises—they’re going to come this year, ready or not. Good ones, hopefully, and most likely, a few bad ones. Watch out for the ones dressed up in fancy trimmings that hold nothing good inside.
But remember, it’s the anticipation of what might be waiting for us that leads us onward each day. If you have nothing to look forward to, it’s hard to find a reason to crawl out from under the covers in the morning. Find something to give you that pleasant little jolt, a bit of wonder or excitement. It’s more than unwrapping a gift. It’s unwrapping the present.
The wishes—they’re just underneath. You might as well pull them out and inspect them. Ponder them. What are yours, really? Time to spend with your family? A chance to explore a dream you have, or a talent? The chance to learn, to grow, to make a new friend or launch a new career?
And the greatest gift: understanding. Is that not what everyone wants? Above everything else, to be known, underneath all the trappings we cover our hearts—our deepest selves—with? It’s one thing you can seek in yourself so that you can offer it to everyone else. Because understanding brings appreciation, respect, and love.
