Sounds like that interpretation is tainted with Christian guilt. The old ways honored and welcomed the spirits of departed loved ones and hoped for them to visit. Evil spirits were warded off through bonfires, costumes and other rituals. Guilt at departed loved ones didn't enter the picture. The gifts were simply tokens to honor the departed. Christianity has historically always tried to take anything they feared or was not of their religion and twist it in order to convince the heathens to convert and adapting local or foreign religious ceremonies and customs was a way to make the converts feel more familiar and comfortable as religious conversion began.