赠礼习俗的起源与历史

译/李小撒

赠礼习俗的起源与历史

译/李小撒

The Origins and History of Gift Giving

赠送礼物是一个历史悠久的传统，从人类有记忆开始就已存在，可追溯到数千年前。我们人类是社会动物，喜欢彼此的陪伴，并通过赠予礼物来表达情感。不管是表达真爱、赞赏业绩，还是感激友情，赠送礼物是我们与生俱来的习惯。要了解我们为何如此痴迷于赠礼，就需要回到过去，找到人类这一独有的表达形式的起源。

Gift giving has been a long tradition that dates back thousands of years as far back as man can remember. As human beings, we are social creatures who enjoy each other’s company and expressing our feelings through the giving of gifts. Whether it is an expression of true love, appreciation of a job well done or just to show our gratitude for having someone as a friend, the giving of gifts is engrained1engrain 同ingrain，使根深蒂固。into our DNA. To understand why we are so enamored2enamor 着迷。with giving gifts, it is important to go back in time to find the origins of this unique form of expression that makes us so human.

赠礼习俗的起源

[2]赠送礼物可能是人类最为古老的活动之一，其历史要比人类文明更为久远，可能要追溯到我们这个物种出现之时。即便是在原始的穴居文化时期，人们通过赠送礼物来表达对彼此喜爱的行为已经相当普遍。据推断，赠予礼物还是一种地位的象征，部族的首领会通过这种方式向为部族做出重要贡献的成员表示嘉许。

Origins of gift giving

[2] The giving of gifts may be one of the oldest of human activities that predates3pre-date在日期上早于（先于）。civilization and may go back to the origin of our species. Even in primitive cavemen culture, the giving of giftswas fairly common as it was used to show love and affection towards one another. The bestowing4bestow给予，献给。of gifts was also inferred as a status symbol when leaders of tribes or clans would show their appreciation for the contributions of those who were part of an important achievement.

[3]不管是一块形状奇特的石头、一颗动物牙齿、一块树皮，或是任何其他自然界的物品，都可能成为馈赠之选。早在人类进入高级文明社会之前，赠礼无疑就已是寻常之举。后来随着工具的进化，礼物开始变得更为精致，比如在动物牙齿和石头上打孔串成项链，许多其他物品，也被手工打造出来。

[3] Whether it was an unusually shaped rock, a tooth from an animal, the bark from a tree or some other item that was natural in origin, the giving of gifts was certainly common behavior long before we became an advanced civilization. As tools were developed, the gifts started to become more elaborate, for example holes were drilled5drill钻孔。into animal teeth and stones so they could be displayed on necklaces and many other objects were fashioned6fashion（尤指手工）制作，使成形，塑造。as well.

[4]后来在古埃及时期，向法老们进献礼物尤为常见。法老们建造庞大的金字塔为来世储存财富，还要塑造神像以支持他们的偶像崇拜。到了古罗马时期，人们会互赠代表幸运的东西，这种做法持续了数百年，后来影响到所有的西方文明。这样代表幸运之物用作礼物，表示赠予者的喜爱与忠诚，至今依然如此。

[4] Later during the Egyptian era, gifts were most notably given to their pharaohs7pharaoh 法老（古埃及国王）。who built massive pyramids to store their wealth for afterlife and produced idols8idol神像。to support their beliefs of idol worship. In Roman times people would present each other with good luck tokens9token象征，标志。, which lasted for centuries and later in fl uenced all of Western civilization onwards. Such tokens of good luck were used as presents to carry favors and show allegiance10allegiance 忠诚。, which is still the case today.

[5]及至中世纪，礼物是获得国王青睐的工具，而发生战事时，则可用来表示效忠。此外，人们订婚时也会收到礼物，即嫁妆，其形式多样，可以是钱币、贵金属，或者一群牛或羊等。在很多文化中，嫁妆和其他类似的表达形式今天依然存在。

[5] By the Medieval age, gifts were used to secure the personal favor of the king or show allegiance in times of war. Also, personal gifts of betrothals11betrothal 订婚。were given as dowries which ranged from coins to precious metals to a herd of cattle, goats or sheep. In many cultures, dowries and other similar expressions still exist today.

[6]如今，赠送礼物仍是我们日常文化的一部分，反映出我们是谁以及我们想用礼物传达的信息。所有的场合和庆祝活动都少不了赠送礼物，这已成为我们互相沟通和自我表达的一种方式。

[6] Today gift giving is still part of our everyday culture and defines who we are and the message we want to send with our gift. Gifts are given for all occasions and celebrations and are a means of us communicating with each other and expressing ourselves.

赠礼的心理因素

[7]时至今日，赠礼习俗遍及全球所有文化，不论是庆祝生日和周年纪念日、祝愿他人好运或身体早日康复、表达爱与喜欢、抑或只是说声谢谢，都少不了赠送礼物。我们会送礼物给家庭成员、朋友、同事乃至邻居。现在，礼品的生产和销售已形成大规模的产业，即便在最繁忙的时刻，人们也能找到合适的礼物，满足不同原因、不同场合的需要。

The psychology behind gift giving

[7] Today, gift giving is spread across all cultures around the world, from celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, offering good luck, best wishes for getting well, showing love and affection, or just saying thanks. Gifts are given to family members, friends, those we work with and even neighbors. There are large industries dedicated to creating and selling gifts that allow people even in the busiest of times to fi nd the right type of present to give someone for many different reasons and occasions.

[8]为何送礼物让人觉得如此有意义？答案很简单：它能使人们建立连接。送礼之人通过赠送礼物表达内心的感受和情绪，希望与收礼之人分享，收礼之人相应地接收到这些感受和情绪，一种连接就此得以建立。与周围人互通情感给我们一种目标感和满足感。这种感觉能照亮灵魂，使我们表现出身上最好的品质。常言道，“给予比接受更有福”，这句话对给予者而言意义特别，因为给予能令其大受裨益。

[8] The psychology of why gift giving is so rewarding is simple—it allows people to connect. The giver of a giftexpresses their feelings and emotions by sending a gift with the hope of being able to share these with the receiver of the gift. The receiver of the gift in turn receives the feelings and emotions and with this a connection is made. Making connections with people around us gives us a sense of purpose and feeling of satisfaction. This feeling is one that enlightens the soul and brings out the best in us. There is an old saying “it is better to give than receive” and it has a special meaning as regards to the benefi ts that it provides to those who give.

送礼物为何重要？

[9]将礼物送与挂怀之人时，幸福感油然而生，数年来对此已有相当数量的研究。送礼物颇有益处，从穴居时代至今一直如此，或许这就是它为何能经得起时间的考验。以下是送礼物对于我们而言非常重要的几个原因：

Why is it important to give gifts?

[9] There has been a considerable amount of research over the years into the feelings of wellbeing that occurs when we give gifts to those we care about. From as early as cavemen days gift giving has been rewarding, which may be the reason it has stood the test of time. Here are some reasons as to why:

[10]我们会感到快乐：简单说来，送礼物不仅让收到礼物的人感到高兴，也让送出礼物的人自我感觉更好。有些研究要求实验对象向他人赠送礼物，结果发现，给予其实让人感觉生活更美好也更快乐。

[10]We Feel Happy:Simply put, the giving of gifts can make a person feel happier about themselves as well as to the person that has received their gift. In studies where people were asked to give gifts as a part of an experiment, the result was that people actually felt better and happier about their own lives.

[11]改善精神状态：研究表明，送礼物可能有助于改善人的精神状态。如果送出一份礼物让你有了目标感，从而变得更快乐，那就必然会提振你的精神状态。

[11]Improve State of Mind:Research suggests that giving gifts may improvea person’s state of mind. If giving a gift makes you feel happier with a sense of purpose then this may inevitably improve your state of mind.

[12]更密切的社会关系：送礼物不仅让你表达了自己的感受，还让你与那个人建立起更紧密的联系。收礼之人会感觉自己与送礼之人之间的距离更近了，反之亦然。社会联系由此变得更为密切，这也意味着送礼人的精神状态和整体幸福感将得以提升。

[12]Greater Social Connection:By giving a gift, you not only express your feelings but build a stronger connection to that person as well. Not only does the person receiving the gift feel closer to the giver, but vice versa as well. This greater social connection also means an improvement in the state of being as well as overall happiness.

[13]有传染性：一个人向别人赠送了礼物，收到礼物的人会变得更愿意付出，见证这一举动的人也会纷纷效仿。这在某种程度上是由于身体分泌内啡肽的缘故，这不仅有益于送礼之人，收礼之人和见证这一举动的人同样也会感到这份快乐。□

[13]It’s Contagious:When a person starts giving gifts, not only will the recipient become more likely to give, those around them who see this act will start giving as well. This is in part due to the release of the endorphins12endorphin 内啡肽，一种具有止痛功能、让人感觉愉悦的内分泌激素。, which not only benefits the giver, but is also felt by those who receive and see the act of giving as well.

（译者单位：南京信息工程大学语言文化学院）