Why do we give fruitcake at Christmas?

Most of the jokes around this time of year seem to center around fruitcake & the fact that it's a terrible, terrible present & basically inedible. I've actually never been given fruitcake as a gift. I ate it once & I really liked it. That could be because it was my Grandma's recipe which involved a chocolate coated crust & gum drops instead of actual fruit. It was moist & I didn't need any safety equipment to cut off a slice.

According to wikipedia fruitcake dates back to Rome where it included "pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash." The term fruitcake was first used in the Middle Ages. Fruitcakes became popular in the 16th century when it was discovered that all of the sugar was a great way to preserve the fruit. Every year in Colorado there is something called the Great Fruitcake Toss, the record is 1,420 feet. So why do people give fruitcake as presents? That is still a mystery, but if I ever get one, I'm heading to Colorado.