Gift-giving was practised by early humans in Africa – how it spread and evolved

By Alan Fowler, Honorary Professor in African Philanthropy, University of the Witwatersrand

For many countries around the world, December is an intense, commercialised period of gift-giving. Not just within families but across all sorts of relationships, such as gifts between buyers and service providers.

Gift-giving, the act of presenting someone with a gift is intended to convey thoughtfulness, appreciation, or goodwill. The gift can be a tangible item, experience, personal time or gesture. It’s an age-old tradition found across cultures and societies, carrying various meanings and functions that help shape human relationships.

I’m the university chair in African…

Read complete article

~	Turkey's environmental activist is among BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women

~	50 years ago, Cyclone Tracy flattened Darwin – and Australia’s attitude to disasters changed forever

~	Work or play? The rise of online ‘kidfluencers’ is raising complex legal and ethical questions

~	How parents can safely navigate their kid’s first sleepover

~	I’ve calculated Santa’s speed on Christmas Eve – and this is what it would do to Rudolph’s nose

~	Keep calm and carry on your routines: how to manage kids’ ‘Christmas crankies’ over the holidays

~	How to get the kids through a long car trip without screens or losing your mind

~	The Christmas album that heralded the end of a folk musical era: The Kingston Trio’s The Last Month of the Year

~	My dance school is closed for the summer, how can I keep up my fitness?

~	Bonjour Tristesse: a ‘charming little monster’ disrupts bourgeois morality on the French Riviera