Christmas is a holiday celebrated by many nations and religions around the world. The spirit of Christmas causes people to come together. It is one of the most favorite times of the year involving gift giving and merry making. To celebrate Christmas people decorate their homes, churches, and other buildings in which fellowship may take place. They may do this with ribbon, holly, mistletoe, and decking them with silver and gold. But where did all these traditions originate? Now, many believe that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth. The truth is that all of these customs from Christmas pre-date our Lord's birth entirely! Christmas today is just a collection of traditions put together to make the holiday we celebrate every year on December …show more content…
The evergreen tree was a sign of the essence of life, so if was very well regarded. Pagans were known to worship evergreen trees. Often they cut them down and decorate them inside their house, this practice was observed and then adopted by the Christians for this holiday. Why holly and mistletoe? Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was struck down by his opponent, the god Hoder, using a mistletoe arrow. Druid rituals used the mistletoe to poison their human sacrifices! For some reason people used this plant that killed many as decoration in their home, often a place to kiss a loved one. Many pagans regarded the red holly as a sign of the blood of their heaven queen, known as Diana. Holly and mistletoe where hung in the door ways of homes and temples to invoke of fertility in those who kissed underneath, making the spirits of god and goddess enter them. Why do we call it Christmas? The word "Christmas" is made of the two words; "Christ" and "Mass". The word "Mass" means death which was originally invented by the Roman Catholic Church. The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host" taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning …show more content…
The first name of this gift giver was Saint Nick, or Nicholas. Nicholas was born in turkey and he was one of the higher bishops. When Nicholas died a group of sailors who adored Nicholas to his bones to a sanctuary in Italy. His bones supplemented a female boon-giving deity, known as The Grandmother, who used to fill children's stockings with gifts. The Grandmother was ousted and there the Nicholas cult began. His followers began to give gifts to each other on the date of Nicholas' death, December 6. The cult spread north and was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshipped the god Woden. Woden had a long white beard and rode a horse through the night skies in the autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden her got rid of is Mediterranean clothing, rescheduled his flight for December and wore heavy winter clothing. The Roman Catholic adopted the cult and taught that we should give out gifts during December. So now you know the origins of one the most famous Christian holidays on the earth. But according to what we just read, the roots of these traditions aren't very Christian, but instead and pagan. The church leaders of old saw these customs and twisted them so they'd be Christian but still be the same custom. If someone ever says that Christmas is a very Christian religion you can tell them
Christmas was originally supposed to be a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. Modern historians suggest that Christ was actually born sometime in April, but that is hardly the point; the point is that a day on which to celebrate his birth and life was needed, and so one was chosen. During the season surrounding this holiday -- especially since it coincided with that of other, similar holidays -- it was thought right to honor Jesus by acting as he did, i.e., in a kind, generous, and forgiving manner. Out of this sprung the custom of giving gifts to loved ones on this holiday.
Christmas is not a Bible doctrine. If our blessed Lord had wanted us to celebrate His birthday, He would have told us when to celebrate it and how to celebrate it. But Christ never told anyone to celebrate His birthday. Furthermore, we know from the Bible and from the church that the apostles and the early church never celebrated Christ's birthday.
I really didn’t do anything on Christmas break and It was boring because we didn’t go nowhere and I was just sitting at my house doing nothing and all I did was just play my games in my room with some friends on xbox and ps4. When Christmas morning was finally upon us my little brother woke everybody up to go open present’s and everyone got every gift they got and I got a little long box and I said “ i'm going to open that one last ” and when I opened my other presents I went to get that little long box and when I unwrapped it was a apple watch and I was so happy because I been wanting one for a long time.
Few people can confidently say why the United States celebrates Christmas on December 25. And I imagine even fewer people know why we give gifts, or why we pucker up when we find ourselves under some mistletoe. The answers to these questions are under a thick layer of rich human and mythological history. For me, the majority of these discoveries were absolutely shocking—Christ was never in Christmas.
Over Christmas break 2017, I basically stayed locked up in my room the whole break playing video games. At the start of the break I would consistently played with my little brother until I got to my mother’s house where the Xbox was. Basically the whole time I was on the Xbox playing games. During the I didn’t really eat that much, I infrequently ate and when I did it was when my mom made me breakfast or dinner.
Christmas is a special time of year that deserves to be remembered for its true meaning. Every year, Christmas becomes more and more commercialized and society forgets the origin of Christmas. It was not started with cookies, toys, and a fat man that delivers them, but instead it started with a humble inn where our Savior was born. The definition of Christmas is “a holiday on December 25 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.” Nowhere in that definition does it say anything about the outrageous pressure society has set on consumers to buy, buy, buy during the Christmas season. Christmas is about presence not presents.
...nse to the lavish celebrations of the Winter Solstice, did the Church, some sixteen hundred years ago, begin to create a high holy day of the birth of Christ and attempt to transfer the focus of the celebrations from the sun in the heavens to the Son of God. The Winter Solstice was overlaid with Christmas, and along the way, we lost some of the deep connections of our celebrations to the seasonal, hemispheric event. Many people today are looking to regain the connection; and perhaps, the impulse to hold onto certain traditions; such as candles, evergreens, feasting and generosity; are echoes of a past that extends back in time many thousand of years.
In a couple more weeks it’s going to be Christmas break. I’m looking forward to Christmas break because I get to sleep in and not have to wake up for school. I enjoy seeing the decorations outside of people's houses and their Christmas trees lit up in the windows. I love to spend the break time away from school with my family and friends. We tend to watch lots of Christmas movies while munching on snacks. This year however, I’m going to be a bit lonely without my dog Cyrus. We usually get him a toy, treats, and a tennis ball for Christmas. This year though we won’t be purchasing any of those items. Cyrus was always so excited and sniffed the treats we got for him right out. I’m really going to miss not having him around with his tail wagging
Grayce had to create a Christmas list for all of us family to gang up and figure out what to get for her. As it turns out, I haven’t seen my little sister, Grayce, in almost a full year, as well as, I haven’t been home in Colorado for Christmas in three years. It has been rough, and Grayce has been taking it the hardest. I live in Fort Myers, Florida and go to Florida Gulf Coast University. I left home to go to college in year 2010, it is now year 2013. Kyle, my older sister, also doesn’t live at home, in Colorado, but she goes home to visit much more than I do. My job and school prevent me from leaving the state very often and when I find out when I would be able to have off, the flights are too expensive or the timing doesn’t work out for the family. But this time it will. Nevertheless, Grayce made this Christmas list, and the only thing that was on there, in big bold colored and enthusiastic, was the word, “RYAN.” The only thing that she wanted for Christmas,
My Christmas break was fun. My cousin and I had went shopping at the mall the money we got for Christmas; that’s all we asked for. My mother, stepfather and brothers and sister came down to Jackson from Memphis; I live with my grandmother.
Mcgowan, Andrew. “How December 25 Became Christmas.” 7 December 2012. Bible History Daily. Biblical Archeology Society, 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/
It is a time of God showing His great love for us” said Martha Noebel in CBN. This quote begins to dip into the true meaning of Christmas. Many children are unaware that Christmas became a celebrated holiday originally because of the birth of Jesus Christ. All of these American traditions such as, Santa coming down the chimney and eating cookies or presents being left under the tree, are simply fictitious events created to spark children’s imagination. While it may seem unethical to sit a child down and tell them there is no such thing as Santa, it is not unethical to sit a child down and explain to them the bigger
Frosty the Snowman waves hello alongside Santa 's reindeer that are ready to take off. Candy canes line the sidewalk and the ginger bread dolls dance in a merry circle. The trees all sparkle with thousands of red, yellow, purple, blue, and orange lights. Out back, Mary and Joseph stand over baby Jesus, Choo-Choo train’s chug in spot, stars twinkle with bright yellow bulbs, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause wave in the distance. Kerkhoven, MN, the location of the happiest house on the block. Every year my breath is always taken away as my eyes struggle to soak in the utter abundance of Christmas spirit. I 'm smiling and we 're not even inside yet.
Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.
The Mistletoe, the Holly, and the Ivy are evergreen plants which bring the color of green into Christmas. These plants also remind everyone of the green which comes in the spring and that winter will eventually be over. In January the Romans would exchange evergreen branches as a symbol of luck. During mid-winter festivals the ancient Egyptians would bring palm branches into their houses. In the Middle Ages in lots of places in Europe Paradise plays were performed on Christmas Eve. In the play the “Paradise Tree” there was a pine tree with red apples strung on it. Bible stories were told to people who couldn’t read. It also makes me think of all of the Christmas plays that I participated in school especially Latvian school where every year I got to dress up as an angel.