Merry Christmas
Origin of Christmas
Christmas, also known as Christmas Day and the Nativity of the Lord, is an important traditional Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus, and is also known in Catholicism as the Nativity viewing.defoamer
The exact date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Bible, but was first observed by the Roman Church in 336 A.D. on December 25, as it was originally the day of the birth of the sun god as mandated by the Roman Empire. At that time, Christians believed that Jesus was the righteous, eternal sun, so they fused the birth of the sun god with the birth of Jesus.defoamer
After the middle of the 5th century, Christmas became a tradition in the Church as an important holiday, and gradually spread among the Eastern and Western Churches. The specific dates and forms of celebration differed from church to church, depending on regional customs and the calendar used, and spread to Asia mainly in the mid-nineteenth century, when Japan and Korea were greatly influenced by the "Christmas culture.defoamer
It has become a common custom in the West to give gifts to each other, hold banquets, and add to the festive atmosphere with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. It has also become a public holiday in the Western world and many other regions, and is similar to the Chinese "New Year" in terms of importance and cultural demands for blessing and reunion.defoamer
Cultural customs
From Christmas Eve onwards, all have entered the official part of Christmas celebration. Christmas Eve, also known as Christmas Eve, or Christmas Eve (December 24), is traditionally marked by Christians and the general faithful participating in a midnight Mass service in church to mark the beginning of Christmas Day. There are also some churches that hold candlelight services as soon as the night begins.defoamer
Christmas cards: As an important gift or form of Christmas communication, it is very popular in the United States and Europe. Many families bring along annual family photos or family news with their cards, and the news usually includes the merits and strengths of family members in the past year, etc. Sending Christmas cards not only expresses the joy of celebrating Christmas, but also wishes to friends and relatives in order to express the feelings of missing.defoamer
Christmas stockings: The earliest ones used to be a pair of large red socks of any size. Because Christmas stockings were meant to hold presents, they were a favorite of children, who would hang their stockings by their beds at night, waiting to receive gifts the next morning.
Christmas hat: a red hat, it is said to wear at night to sleep in addition to sleep peacefully and a little warm, the next day will find in the hat more than a little gift from the beloved.
Christmas tree: first originated in Germany, where people usually get an evergreen plant (such as a pine tree) inside or put it outdoors around Christmas time, decorate it with Christmas lights and colorful decorations, and place an angel or star on top of the tree.
Christmas rings: first appeared in Finland, Christmas decorations hung in front of homes, usually with green branches or rattan (pine hair, pine needles, etc.) and silver metal and gold bells with red ribbons to form the main color, green, white, yellow, red four colors to represent the joy and festivity, also written on the top of MERRY CHRISTMAS or abbreviated as X'mas.
Christmas representative food: mainly turkey, tree trunk cake, almond pudding, gingerbread, seafood, glogi wine, beach feast, polenta, etc. The above representative Christmas props or diets, which are used by Transbaikai to this day, will be appropriately changed with local customs, especially in the areas where modern cities have been covered by commercial atmosphere, only Christmas trees and Santa Claus are left as symbolic carriers, and only western traditional families still retain the Christmas atmosphere in its full form.
Santa Claus
When it comes to Christmas, there is a figure that has become popular over the years, whether from major films, commercials, books and publications, or Christmas decorations, dolls and then gift cards, there is an old man in red with a white beard, he is Santa Claus.
Santa Claus is a character in Western mythology and legend, in the legend of the night before Christmas in the West quietly give gifts to small children, is the birth of Jesus Christ viewing that is one of the representative characters of Western Christmas. The basic image is an old man with a white beard wearing a red robe and a red hat. Every Christmas Eve driving nine reindeer pulling a sleigh car from the north, by the chimney into each home, Christmas gifts in stockings hanging on the children's bed or in front of the fire.
Santa Claus is widely believed to be a derivative of St. Nicholas, a Christian saint bishop who lived in the city of Mira (in present-day Turkey) in the 4th century A.D. St. Nicholas did a lot of charitable work throughout his life, most of all helping the poor in secret. Santa Claus was his alias in his later years, and the name comes from the classic story of his secretly sending money to help three girls. Because of his deeds and contributions, Nicholas was revered as a saint by the local faithful and people after his death.
It is also said that the origin of Santa Claus or related to a red and white mushroom known as the poison fly umbrella, the specific can not be studied, but the color scheme of the costume still has some relevance.
Cultural influences
It is worth mentioning that the A.D. calendar, which is widely used today, comes from Christmas, the year of the birth of the Son of Jesus, which was designated in the West as the first year of the A.D. calendar. It can be imagined that the influence of religious culture, led by Christianity, on the West is no less than that of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in the East, and some customs are even used to a great extent beyond the East to this day.defoamer,antifoam
For example, past U.S. presidents have been required to take the oath of office with their hands on the Bible; as of 2018 alone, Christian believers have exceeded 2.4 billion, accounting for 32% of the world's population, making it the most popular and influential religion in the world. And most important holidays in Western culture are associated with or influenced by Christianity. One is its historical status, and the other is its universality, making Christianity one of the world's three major religions (as per the combined influence of Buddhism and Islam together).
As an important Western holiday of Christian origin, Christmas has a global historical status no less than the Chinese Spring Festival, but most of the general public, especially the modernized young people, are not sure where the holiday comes from nowadays, but the good meaning of blessing and gathering together is perhaps the important factor that the traditional holiday can be preserved and used.
