Regifting Indian giver

Regifting


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regifting or regiving is the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift.

Concept
Regifting differs from straightforward giving in that goods are not acquired specifically for donation. Typically, goods that have been received as a gift are offered to others, unbeknown to them that it was originally a gift to the person offering it.[1] Often the motives are principally charitable but also includes giving items which are surplus to one's needs. However, regifting also refers to the act of giving away unwanted gifts as a way of disposing them.

Regiving differs from recycling in that recycling is most often associated with breaking components down and rebuilding into new products.[2][3]

Etymology
The term was popularized by a 1995 episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld ("The Label Maker"), although the practice pre-dates the term considerably.[4][5][6] In the episode, the character Elaine calls Dr. Tim Whatley a "regifter" after he gives Jerry Seinfeld a label maker that was originally given to Whatley by Elaine. (Whatley later reveals to Elaine that the label maker was faulty, which gave him the excuse to give the item away.)

Another variant introduced in Seinfeld is degifting (see Indian giver), which refers to the act of demanding a gift back from the receiver.

Etiquette
Several rules of etiquette are proposed in popular media regarding regifting; they include rewrapping the gift, not using the gift before regifting it, and not giving the gift back to the original gift-giver.[7][8]

Regifting has become a popular addition to many white elephant gift exchanges or yankee swap events. There are no rules that specifically prohibit or encourage the practice of regifting at these parties, but generally the host of the party suggests regifting if it is an option. However, if the host suggests a spending limit for the party, it is generally poor etiquette to regift in lieu of making a purchase. The online variations of these exchanges eliminate this situation through their online purchasing requirements. One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year.

A variant of regifting was mentioned as one of Oprah's Favorite Things during the recession-themed 2008 episode.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind Poll in December 2010 showed that regifting was commonplace.[9] Bur;ak Ertimur, one of the investigators in the study, and a professor of marketing at FDU, said “The popularity of regifting is driven by many things for different people. For some, it’s thrift in difficult economic times, or it’s a way to get around annoyingly high expectations about gift-giving. It’s also awareness of, or guilt over, how much stuff goes into the landfill. But the main reason might be just the sheer volume of stuff we have,” she said.[10]

Regifting has recently become more acceptable when it was adopted by environmentally and budgetary conscious people that encourage the green gifting concept.[11]

Commercial and other uses of the term
In the US, National Regifting Day is December 18, created by a debt-counselling group called Money Management International.[12] Many office holiday parties are held on this day, and research shows that 40% of office party gifts are regifted without use.[13] On October 24, 2008, the Governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter Jr., declared December 18, 2008, "National Regifting Day". In Canada, eBay marketed "National Re-gifting Week" as December 26–30, after Christmas.[14]

See also
The Freecycle Network
Tit for tat
Pay it forward





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Indian giver



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the expression. For the music by 1910 Fruitgum Company, see Indian Giver (song) and Indian Giver (album). For the book, see Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World.

Look up Indian giving in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
"Indian giver" is a phrase used to describe a person who gives a "gift" and later wants it back or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item.[1][2] It is based on cultural misunderstandings that took place between the early European colonists and the Indians of North America with whom they traded.[3] Often, the Europeans viewed an exchange of items as gifts and believed that they owed nothing in return to the Indigenous people. On the other hand, the Indigenous people saw the exchange as a form of trade or equal exchange and so they had differing expectations of their guests.[3]

The phrase is used to describe a negative act or shady business dealings.[4]

Etymology
The phrase originated, according to the researcher David Wilton, in a cultural misunderstanding that arose when European settlers first encountered Native Americans after the former had arrived in North America in the 15th century. In his 2004 book Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, Wilton writes:

To an Indian, the giving of gifts was an extension of this system of trade and a gift was expected to be reciprocated with something of equal value. Europeans, upon encountering this practice, misunderstood it, considering it uncouth and impolite. To them, trade was conducted with money and gifts were freely given with nothing expected in return. So this native practice got a bad reputation among the white colonists of North America and the term eventually became a playground insult.[5]

Usage
The phrase was first noted in 1765 by Thomas Hutchinson, who characterized an Indian gift as "a present for which an equivalent return is expected",[3][6] which suggests that the phrase originally referred to a simple exchange of gifts. In 1860, however, in John Russell Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms, Bartlett said that the phrase was being used by children in New York to mean "one who gives a present and then takes it back".[7]

In 1969, American bubblegum pop band 1910 Fruitgum Company released the album Indian Giver. The titular song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 in Canada.

As recently as 1979, the phrase was used in mainstream media publications,[8] but in the 1997 book The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States, the writer and editor Philip H. Herbst says that although the phrase is often used innocently by children, it may be interpreted as offensive,[9] and The Copyeditor's Handbook (1999) describes it as objectionable.[10]

See also
flag United States portal
icon Language portal
Savage (pejorative term)
Competitive altruism
Ethnic slurs
Indian summer
Potlatch
Reciprocity

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Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

Was immer es sei, ich f;rchte die Danaer, auch wenn sie Geschenke bringen).