Amazing Facts about Christmas

Christmas is a festival celebrating the Jesus Christ's birth every year by the Christian community, held on December 25; the beginning was from the Western Church. For centuries now we have seen it as a custom that Christmas is celebrated not only as a single day, but as a whole season in various parts of the globe, it begins in the evening of December 24 every year as pre celebrations of Christmas Eve. That custom of celebrating the evening before the big renowned day is a culture from ancient Jewish methods. Christmas signifies "Christ-mass."

As under the influence of the church, Christian practice over shadowed pagan solstice festivals throughout Europe. Christmas festival begins with organizing beautifully created Christmas trees, shiny candles, exchanging gifts. One of the main attractions of Christmas Festival is Santa Claus. Santa Claus is basically a Dutch word that is derived from the word Sinter Claus meaning thereby Saint Nicholas in English. Saint Nicholas was known to be the Bishop of early era of a church in Asia in a part of Turkey. When he came to the knowledge of some desperate needs in his locality and a family needed to sell their children into lifetime slavery, thereafter one night he came across their home and left money at their doorstep. Among the many stories that cite the origin of the Christmas tree out of them the three are the most popular that Germany making it the respective place of origin. The stories regulates from the 8th to 16th century. There are elements of some historical fact and looks like connecting from one to another. The first story comes from St. Boniface that in the 8th century there was a missionary to some of the remotest tribes of Germany. He is probably best known for what is called the “Felling of Thor’s Oak.” That second source of the Christmas tree comes from medieval religious in the plays that are held in Germany, out of it most popular plays was the “Paradise” play. The third tradition about the origin of the Christmas tree attributes it to Martin Luther. Everybody enjoys seeing Christmas lights and banners may be hang on the streets, music being played from speakers and Christmas trees are placed in prominent areas. Rolls of shiny colored paper with secular or religious Christmas papers are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts.

By: Anuja Arora

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Customs_and_traditions