How are Della and Jim compared to the Magi in "The Gift of the Magi"?

Della and Jim are compared to the Magi at the very end of
this richly ironic story. Although they have traded their most precious possessions to
buy a gift for the other that is, in a sense, useless, as Della cannot use the combs
without her hair and Jim cannot use the watch chain without his watch, the narrator
argues that they are actually incredibly rich because of the love that they have for
each other, as has been displayed in their willingness to sacrifice what is dearest to
them for the other.

Note what the final paragraph tells us
about them:

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But in a last word to the wise of these days, let
it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and
receive gifts, such as they are wisest. They are the
Magi.

The Magi are normally
held up as a symbol of the original spirit of Christmas gift-giving, and so by comparing
Jim and Della to the Magi, O. Henry is arguing that in their choice of gifts, which the
"wise" might consider to be "foolishness," they actually capture the original spirit of
sacrificial gift-giving that we see in the story of the Magi. By holding their love for
each other as more important than their own possessions, they show a true spirit of
Christmas love that is a challenge to all of us when Christmas arrives in these
materialistic times.