Christmas December 25 The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian (美索不达米亚) celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk (马杜克,古代巴比伦人的主神,原为巴比伦的太阳神). Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days. The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side. To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king. The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades (化妆舞会) in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). "Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination (深恶痛绝) to honor the pagan (异教) god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia. But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail (徒劳). Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God. Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism (密特拉教,奉祀密特拉神的宗教,纪元后最初3世纪内传至罗马帝国) was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.
Christmas is the public holiday and also is celebrated around the world. I found some information about Christmas. Someone asked me: why did you write about Christmas and why you did not know Christmas. My answered is I never have formal Christmas in china and also have not got formal Christmas day and holiday. So I want to know why Western nations have Christmas day. Nowadays, In China, only about one percent of people are Christians, so most people only know a few things about Christmas. Because of this, Christmas is only often celebrated in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and HongKong. In these big cities there are Christmas Trees, lights and other decorations on the streets and in department stores. Father Christmas is called ‘Shen Dan Lao Ren’ and has grottos in shops like is Europe and America. But HongKong is different in China. In Hong Kong, Chinese Christians celebrate Christmas with church services in Chinese. At the Anglican Cathedral, some are held in English, because Europeans who live and work in Hong Kong attend them as well as people from Hong Kong. People also send Christmas cards, many of which are home made using Chinese craft techniques. So this is my first time to feeling Christmas day in UK. I am exciting before Christmas day come. However, the result was different because of every shop was closing in Christmas day and boxing day. I have not got enough food in Christmas time. I do not know why the shop closed in that time. And nobody told me. So my first Christmas that I will said not really interesting. However, I think that I will be get more interested and do something happy myself next year. I promise myself. Because I know something I should buy or something I should not buy. So that fine. And also that I know some customs about England’s Christmas. Families often celebrate Christmas together, so they can watch each other open their presents. Most families have a Christmas tree (or maybe even two!) in their house for Christmas. The decorating of the tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping. And some English children believe that Father Christmas, leaves presents in Stockings or pillow-cases. These are normally hung up by the fire or by the children’s beds on Christmas Eve. Children sometimes leave mince pies and brandy out for Father Christmas to eat and drink when he visits them. Now, some people say that a non-alcoholic drink should be left for Santa as he has to drive! This information I was got from the book because I want to know that. And there are some customs that only take place, or were started, in the UK. Wassailing is an old anglo-saxon custom that doesn’t take place much today. Boxing Day is a very old custom that started in the UK and is now taken as a holiday in many countries around the world. So this is I know about Christmas after my holiday. It is very interesting. Isn’t it! Thanks.
It is said that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born by the virgin Mary. God even sent Gabriel, the messenger of God, to tell Yue Se in a dream that he should not abandon Mary because she was unmarried and pregnant, but should marry her and name the child Jesus, which meant that he would save the people from their sins.
Maggie's gift which was written by American writer Jack London is a nice one. very touching. the story happened just before the Chrismas. Maggies and his husband wanted to buy each other a nice Chrismas gift, but they were too poor to afford that. Maggie has a beautiful hair, her husband had an elegant watch. finally they all bought a gift for each other. maggie bought a watch chain for matching her husband's watch. while Maggie's husband bought a barrette for Maggie's blonde hair,actually Maggie had her bonde hair cut and sold out her beautiful hair in order to pay for the watch chain for her husband; while, her husband sold out his golden watch in order to pay for the hair barrette for Maggie's hair. what a pity. this story is one of the most famous stories of Jack London's. if you know Jack London, you have to know this Maggie's Gift
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25. On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees. The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ. The story of Christmas comes chiefly from the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament. 翻译:“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝,因而又名耶诞节。这一天,世界所有的基督教会都举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物,寄圣诞卡,这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。 “圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝,因而又名耶诞节。这一天,世界所有的基督教会都举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物,寄圣诞卡,这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25. On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services. During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees.圣诞节是基督教为了庆祝耶稣的诞生而设定的节日。没有人知道耶稣是在哪一天出生的,但是大多数基督教徒选择了12月25日作为圣诞节。在这一天,许多人来到教堂参加各种特殊的宗教服务。在圣诞期间,他们互相交换礼物用神圣的圣诞花圣诞树装饰自己的屋子。
Christmas carols The tradition of carol singing originated from the carolling practised by the Waits in the fourteenth century. Waits were royal singers who were sent by the court to perform. in selected homes for treats, pennies and/or fun. "Carol" means a circle dance accompanied by a song. Most Christmas carols we sing now were composed around 1400-1600's.
It is said about the sixteenth century, the Germans among the first to the evergreen pine and cypress branches to get in the house to display and later, Germany missionaries Martin Luther candle on the fir tree in the woods, and then lit so that It seems to be a guide to the people of the Star of Bethlehem, as the pre-2000 Eastern Dr. accordance with the three stars in the sky to find Jesus in general. Today, people have been using small bulbs instead of candles. 2. Legend in a long time ago, a farmer, on Christmas day met a poor child, he warmly welcomed the children, the children leave the fold under the pine root inserted in the ground and immediately turned into a pine tree, Hung above the gift to farmers in return for its good intentions.
According to the Bible, the holy book of Christians, God decided to allow his only son, Jesus Christ, to be born to a human mother and live on earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other more."Christmas"- meaning"celebration of Christ"- honors the time when Jesus was born to a young Jewish woman Mary.