On this night before Christmas, all through the house, children will be going to sleep full of anticipation. Today we get into tomorrow's Christmas spirit with a look at the phrase Christmas gift!

Folks in the Southern and Midland parts of the country know Christmas gift! as a Christmas greeting, and some of them may recall the old Christmas custom once associated with the phrase. Here's how it worked: The first person to greet another with the words Christmas gift! on Christmas morning would become the lucky recipient of (what else?) a Christmas gift. So not only does the quick-on-the-uptake person get the satisfaction of knowing he or she has better reflexes, the first speaker also benefits with a gift.

But Christmas gifting isn't really about collecting gifts. Ferrol Sams, in his book Christmas Gift! describes the excitement and thrill of that phrase. He recalls:

You said it first and you said it fast. You said it to anyone and everyone upon first sight that day. It was the salutation of the season, used only on that particular morning. It was an achievement to catch a listener, a cousin, an aunt or uncle unawares with the cry...[Christmas gift!] really means "I love you," and on that one morning each year it can be shouted exultantly to the heavens.