People around the world celebrate holidays and other special occasions throughout the year. And many of these celebrations involve gifts. But why? While some holidays are observed for the historical or religious events they commemorate, there are so many other reasons why we celebrate special days throughout the year. Holidays and other special occasions give us a reason to take time out of our busy lives and connect with our families, our friends, and our communities. They allow us a moment to be reminded of what life's all about, and to share fond feelings and memories with those who are most important to us. The special days we celebrate also give us something fun to look forward to. Without them, there'd be no fireworks in the night sky on 4th of July. No kids ringing our doorbells on Halloween. No candles to blow out on our birthdays. No gifts with our names on them. (And no Lucia & Co.!!) The years would simply run together, and our lives would resemble that of a long, boring story. Lucky for us, our ancestors understood the importance of celebrating the special events and people in our lives, and the value of exchanging gifts to maintain relationships. In ancient times, it was common for tribal leaders to exchange gifts as a sign of peace and respect. During their Winter Solstice celebrations, ancient Romans exchanged gifts in the form of cakes as a way to pass along wishes of sweet prosperity for the coming year. Today, the tradition of giving gifts is widely associated with holidays and other special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, graduations, and retirements. And like our ancestors, many of today’s business professionals continue to recognize the value of maintaining important relationships with their customers, clients, and coworkers with gift boxes and other gifts. While we may never know who was behind that first day of celebration, or what made that day so special, we can be certain of one thing. It brought new meaning to our existence—and made life a lot more fun!