Christmas Traditions

CHRISTMAS

Traditionally observed on December 25, Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Even though some churches observe it on different dates, the reality is that the precise chronology of Jesus’ birth and death is but to be determined. Christmas has a lot of sides to it, some religious and some secular, including the exchange of gifts, the Santa Claus myth, decoration and display of the Christmas tree, and religious ceremonies.

History

We can trace the origin of Christmas to many pagan holidays. It was because AD 354 that the christians in the West began celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ on December 25, replacing an earlier date of January 6. By that time, the christians had appropriated several pagan festivals and traditions of the season that had been practiced in a lot of parts of the Middle East and Europe, as a means of stamping them out. Among those festivals were Saturnalia of the Romans, the birth celebrations of sun – God Attis in Phrygia (December 25) and Persian sun – God Mithras (December 17-24).

The Nativity

The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. The christians celebrate Christmas by remembering or re-making the Nativity. While the Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity Rapidly in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, the Western Church mostly prefers celebrating Advent. Children frequently enact the events of the Nativity, or sing some of the numerous Christmas carols that reference the event. Some christians display a small re-creation of the Nativity in their houses, employing little figurines to portray the important characters.

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Santa Claus

In Western culture, a principal feature of Christmas is the exchange of gifts amongst buddies and family members members, some of them being attributed to Santa Claus. Santa Claus is also recognized by other names, such as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Saint Basil and Father Frost. Santa Claus is based on the tale about Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, who gave gifts on the eve of his feast day of December 6. He became linked with Christmas in 19th century America and was renamed Santa Claus or Saint Nick. In Britain and France too, Father Christmas and Pere Noel respectively were created to adopt the Santa image.

Christmas tree

The Christmas tree owes its origin to the ancient pagan notion, later appropriated by the christians, that the evergreen tree represents a celebration of the renewal of life. Christmas trees first became popular in Germany in the late 18th century. Christmas trees may possibly be decorated with lights and ornaments. The poinsettia then became connected with Christmas, even though other well-liked holiday plants consist of holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. In some parts of the world, it is classic to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Town authorities also hang Christmas banners from street lights and spot Christmas trees in the town square.

Feasts and cards

A unique meal of Christmas dishes is generally served on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. One more extremely well-known tradition is to send Christmas cards to friends and family members members. Cards can also be produced with messages such as “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”, to consist of senders and recipients who may not celebrate Christmas.