Gift Baskets have probably been around ever since the invention of the basket, but unlike other old customs it’s persisted into the present day. The reasons people send gift baskets to Canada even now follow a surprisingly intricate historical trail, ranging through wars, nations and religious festivals around the world. Moses and Baby Gift Baskets Moses’ infant journey in a wicker basket looms large in the imaginations of many Christians, Jews and Muslims, and many people believe that gift baskets to celebrate new babies find their origin with this religious story. Eostre and Easter Baskets In the 6th Century, the English Church father Bede described a goddess of the dawn and abundance named Eostre, and said that the Anglo-Saxons converted her festival into modern Easter after they converted to Christianity. Historical details about Eostre are sketchy, but many people believe Easter’s association with gift baskets begins here, as she was said to carry a basket of eggs symbolizing abundance. Like many Anglo-Saxon deities, Eostre is thought to be of Germanic origin (as Oester), so it may be that popular German festival traditions (which later became Easter traditions) have become associated with this little known goddess. In any event, the modern practice of painting Easter eggs and using baskets seems to have grown more popular in North America as German, Russian and Eastern European immigrants settled there. Thanksgiving Gift Baskets and the English Harvest Festival Since ancient times, people all over the world have celebrated harvest festivals. In Canada, the most widely known is Thanksgiving, which is a litter different from the American holiday. While American Thanksgiving is focused on Pilgrims settling and making contact with native peoples, Canadian Thanksgiving (which occurs on the second Monday of October in Canada) is more or less a direct descendant of English harvest festivals. The harvest Festival was originally a religious holiday, though many people now celebrate it in a secular fashion. Central to the festival was bringing the harvest’s bounty, usually in baskets laden down with produce. These would be (and still are) displayed in churches and at tables for community and family gatherings. This is ultimately the origin modern Thanksgiving and harvest gift baskets in Canada. World Wars Gift baskets and gift hampers would become even more prominent through both world wars, when many supplies were scarce. Rationing was particularly strict in the United Kingdom during the Second World War and was not abolished until about a decade after the war ended. During these times people grew to appreciate gift baskets as critical sources for much-desired goods. As a matter of fact, carrot cake †a popular gift basket item today †was originally revived during the war from a medieval recipe by frugal cooks! As all of these culture forces combined in Canada the popularity of the gift basket grew until today, it’s a customary way to celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays and more. Canadians live them †and when you see how deep the tradition goes, you can plan your gift basket for maximum impact.
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