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…
25th. December 25th is the date of the celebration of the italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of their sun god. This was taking place long before the birth of Christ. December 22nd was to be believed as the death of the roman sun god which died and rose three days later on December 25th! This was the cause of all out festivities. The ancient roman government forced their commoners to treat them with gifts. Soon this practice took place between everyone! Soon the temples of the Romans were full of gift giving every year on December 25th. Later Christians saw this practice and invoked it into the holiday of Christmas. Instead of the gifts being given directly to one another they were given to you by Saint Nick. But why trees? In Germany the evergreen was used to worship their Yule god.
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…
"victim". Who is this Santa Claus?
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
wrong!
“One of the first signs of Christmas was the arrival of the Christmas card in the post. John Calcott Horsley designed the first Christmas card in 1846 for Sir Henry Cole, Chairman of the Society of the Arts. Only 1000 cards were printed that first year and were expensive, but the pattern for the future was formed.” Encyclopedia. Then in 1870, postage was reduced. Thus began the real spread of the Christmas card. By the early 1870s, the custom had reached the United States. Christmas decorations sometimes appeared well before the holiday, also, but many still held to the old superstition that it was bad luck to put up a evergreen (Christmas Tree) before Christmas Eve. ”The most favored plants were all 'magical' because of the mid-winter berries they produced--mistletoe, holly and ivy. The red berry of the holly was believed to protect one against witchcraft.” Encyclopedia. The sprig had to be carried into the house by a male, as the berry is on the 'male' holly plant. One use for holly sprigs was to decorate the Christmas pudding. The 'female' ivy symbolized immortality. “Mistletoe, because of its pagan origins, was not allowed in any church. Kissing under the mistletoe was English custom and only as many berries as were on the mistletoe, could there be kisses. For after every kiss, a berry had to be removed from the sprig.” English Customs.
Carols, snow, mistletoe, cookies and milk. These are all synonymous with the Christmas season. However, for many, the true staple of Christmas is Santa Claus. Every child has felt the joy of Christmas Eve, spending time with family, leaving treats out for Santa, tossing and turning in their beds in anticipation for old St. Nick’s arrival. Although what Santa does is well known, his origins are slightly less familiar to most. The man we identify with Christmas has developed over a long time and has encountered many changes. “The original St. Nicholas is for the most part a shadowy figure, lost in historical mists and religious myths. (Myers 318).
Christmas is one of the most celebrated festivals in the western world. The nativity celebration of Jesus. In every country, or every region, local customs influence the ceremonies, and Christmas is celebrated differently everywhere because of those customs. But what most western people have no idea of is that Christmas is not the only nativity festival of a founder of a religion. It is not even the oldest nativity festival! That would be the traditional Buddhist festival of the birth of Buddha.
The Bible is God's complete and final revelation to man, and it tells us everything we need to know for our spiritual lives (see II Timothy 3:16). We don't have to go outside the Bible for anything. God's Word tells us how we're to worship, how we're to give money for the support of the Lord's work, how to evangelize the lost, how to observe the Lord's Supper, and everything else pertaining to the Christian life. But not once in the Bible does God tell us to celebrate Christmas! We're told to remember the Lord's death, but nowhere are we told to celebrate His birth.
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.
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.
...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.
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.
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
The Reformation of the sixteenth century forced Protestants to attack the historical origins of Christmas. Through this attack, two views of Christmas’ origins resulted. Proponents of the History of Religions Theory believe Christmas is a Christianized version of pagan celebrations, such as the birthday of Sol Invictus on December 25, which were acknowledged during the same date on the Roman calendar. Believers in the Calculation Theory argue that Christ’s birth is determined by chronological speculation (Nothaft).
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.
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.
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.