When did Christmas become about buying gifts?

Answer 1

When the Three Wise Men arrived with Gold, Franckincense and Myrrh, I suppose.

Christianity, as it was spreading, hi-jacked festivals from the indigenous cultures into which it was moving, and re-worked them as Christian festivals.

The Roman festival of Saturnalia took place in late December and involved a lot of merry-making and gift-giving.

As there is no Biblical evidence that Jesus was actually born on December 25th. it is felt by scholars that the Church pinned Christmas onto Saturnalia, as they did with other 'pagan' festivals - such as pinning All Saints' Day to the pagan festival of Samhain.

Bealtaine was taken by Easter and the various midsummer festivals being 'devoted' to St John the Baptist.

Much of the 'tradition' which accompanies these Christian festivals dates back much further than Jesus, as the common people were often prepared to tolerate a change in the focus of their festivals, but reluctant to let the activities decline.

-- later--

I've just realised that I didn't cover what may well be the main point of your question.... the 'buying' bit.

That is a recent enough introduction to the rituals..... early gifts would have been handmade or home-grown produce.

But I think it might be a function of greater wealth that came to mean that handmade/home-grown products are seen as somehow inferior to commercial products.

That, and mass market advertising of "must-have" merchandise.

Answer 2

around 1886