Christmas - festival of light and love

Christmas is a time for joy, for giving and sharing, for laughter, for coming together with family and friends, for tinsel and brightly decorated packages. But mostly, Christmas is for love. It was this love for which Jesus came to this world and sacrificed his life.

Thus Christmas is a celebration of love and mirth symbolized by the Nativity, the Santa, the caribou, the poinsettia and the evergreens. All that brings home the spirit of love, life and laughter. And this is the spirit that makes Christmas so popular throughout the world. Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing.

Lets talk about the history of Christma.In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God. It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep. In Roman times, it became the celebrations honoring Saturnus (the harvest God) and Mithras (the ancient God of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus.

Early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour." In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until quite recently. In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called Blue Laws, believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.

New Christmas customs appeared in the Middle Ages. The most prominent contribution was the carol, which by the 14th century had become associated with the religious observance of the birth of Christ. The popularity of Christmas was spurred on in 1820 by Washington Irving's book The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. In 1834, Britain's Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire.

Saints Days have also contributed to our Christmas celebrations. A prominent figure in today's Christmas is Saint Nicholas who for centuries has been honored on December 6th. He was one of the forerunners of Santa Claus. Celebrating Christmas has been controversial since its inception.

How Christmas is celebrated all over the world:

France: In France, everyone has a Christmas tree, sometimes decorated in the old way with red ribbons and real white wax candles. Fir trees in the garden are often decorated too, with lights on all night. Nearly every French home during Christmas displays a cr?che or, in English a nativity scene, which serves as a focus for the Christmas celebration. Christmas has turned out to be one of the main religious festivals in France. The procession of the Christ child and the visit to the nursery were essential elements of the traditions surrounding this great celebration.

Germany: Germans love to decorate their houses at Christmas. Many houses will have little wooden frames holding electric candles in their windows, and colored pictures of paper or plastic which look beautiful from the outside at night. In Germany, Santa is called Nikolaus and he wears a red suit and has a long white beard. The origin of the name Nikolaus is a Greek bishop of Myra (a city now in Turkey. In Eastern Germany Nikolaus is also called Ash, Shaggy Goat or Rider. The Christmas tree is a popular tradition in Germany. On Christmas Eve the parents set up the Christmas tree and decorate it. Once they have finished, the children open the presents. The rest of the family comes around on Christmas day.

Russia: In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was the important time - when 'Father Frost' brought presents to children. With the fall of Communism, Christmas can be openly celebrated - either on December 25th; or more often on January 7th. This unusual date is because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old 'Julian' calendar for religious celebration days. The main religion in Russia is called Russian Orthodox.

The Russian people believe in Jesus Christ and Mary, his mother. The types of food eaten usually depends on the wealth of the families. The main foods eaten are hot roast Pirog - Russian pies which is made out of meat or cabbage, and another food eaten is pelmeni - meat dumplings. A few weeks before Christmas many people don't eat meat, eggs or milk and the day before Christmas they hardy eat anything at all. The Christmas tree is also put up on Christmas Eve when the children go to bed. Families get together and have a party, exchange presents.

United States: The USA is so multi-cultural that you will find many different ways of celebrating Christmas. The United States of America is a vast country with many people from many different ethnic backgrounds. Therefore the way the people of the USA celebrate Christmas varies not only from state to state but from household to household. "Christmas in Virginia is celebrated much the same as in the rest of the United States.

Stores begin decorating for Christmas around the end of October. The first "official" day of Christmas shopping is the last Friday in November which for us is the day after our Thanksgiving Holiday. Some people display their Christmas cards around the house, people hang evergreen strands on banisters, hang mistletoe and have advent calendars for little children to open each day. The night before Christmas lots of children leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa. It's all gone in the morning when they come in to open their presents. Most people open their gifts together with their families, some open on Christmas Eve.

Families have big dinners in the middle of the day. In Arizona where they don't have big trees, they decorate the cactus and the palm trees. The day after Christmas is a big shopping day because they have big sales and people return some of their gifts. Children are usually out of school until January 2nd. Candy canes are a popular candy at Christmas time.

Australia: With opposite seasons to the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas in Australia is quite different from the traditional European concept. Instead of white, snowy scenery, Australia is filled with blue skies and sunshine and intense heat sometimes up to 35 degrees Centigrade. Australia is now a multicultural society with many people from many different places. But nearly all celebrate Christmas by giving gifts and preparing special food to share with friends and family.

Many Australian Christmas dinners look (and taste) like traditional English and European feasts - with roasted meats and vegetables, special fruit cakes and puddings. Australians enjoy Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve which is broadcast on TV across the country. Australian shops and homes are decorated with tinsel and bright Christmas decorations and have Santa available for a chat with the children or for a photo. Australia's worst Christmas was in 1974, when Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in the Northern Territory. More than 60 people were killed.

England: Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December in England, with a Christmas dinner for the whole family. Many of our Christmas customs began long before Jesus was born. They came from earlier festivals which had nothing to do with the Christian church. Long time ago people had mid-winter festivals when the days were shortest and the sunlight weakest. They believed that their ceremonies would give the sun back its power. The Romans, for example, held the festival of Saturnalia around 25 December. They decorated their homes with evergreens to remind them of Saturn, their harvest god, to return the following spring.

Canada: Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th. It is a statutory holiday throughout Canada. In Canada, Christmas traditions have come from many countries. The Christmas Tree is a German tradition, started as early as 700 A.D. In the 1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and eventually into Canada.

The Nativity and many old carols can be traced to France. Greeting cards can be traced to England, and the ancient Gaelic custom of putting lights in windows originated in Ireland. The traditional Santa Claus can be traced to the United States. Christmas is one of the main religious festivals celebrated in Canada. Christmas traditions include decorating houses and yards with lights, putting up Christmas trees, giving gifts, and sending greeting cards.

Important characters and icons associated with Christmas:

Santa Claus

Xmas Tree or the Christmas tree

Mistletoe

Holly and the Prickly

Glastonbury Thorn

The Poinsettia as the Christmas flower

Rudolf, the red nose Reindeer

The Christmas Star

Christmas Ornaments, Traditions, history and procurement

Christmas elves

Some Light on the Date of Christmas, Jesus, and Christianity

Birth Of Jesus Christ

Tradition of gifts and gifts giving

Check out this yummy Christmas punch:

Ingredients

1 quart pineapple juice
1 pkg (2 qt) lime Kool-aid
1 qt lime sherbet
2 qts ginger

Method: Mix Kool-aid in punch bowl. Add pineapple juice. Just before serving, add sherbet by spoonfuls. Add ginger ale. For red punch, use raspberry Kool-aid and sherbet.

Christmas is all about fun and celebration dedicated to the child in all of us. Have a great Christmas this year. Decorate your home and Christmas tree. Get yummy candies for your kids. Share the special moment with your family and loved ones. And create the magic of love and colors.