Q. 1. Does the Catholic Church support Christmas Gift Exchanges at work?

A. 1. First of all, the "Christmas Gift Exchange" is a secular (worldly) celebration. In most instances, the birthday of Jesus, the reason to celebrate Christmas Day, is not even mentioned in the celebration at the work environment. It is usually a party time to eat, drink and take home a gift. This form of celebration falls short of being spiritual.

While the practice of exchanging gifts at work may contribute to employee morale and build company culture, there are many legitimate reasons for not participating in such activities. Such may include financial limitation, personal religious beliefs that do not support gift exchange, previous bad experiences related to gift exchange, etc...

Is it a sin to participate in such a practice? No, it is not a sin. Sometime it is best to play along for the sake of workplace harmony.