Christmas Festival marks the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the son of God. All people either they are Christians or not, around the world celebrate Christmas. It’s a get together when friends and family come together and appreciate the good stuff they have. People also like this festival, and particularly kids, as it’s a time when you give and receive presents.

In the 9th century, Christmas started with a particular liturgy. Still, it did not gain the liturgical meaning of either Good Friday or Easter, the other two main Christian holidays. Roman Catholic churches at midnight celebrated the first Christmas Mass, and Christmas candlelight services were increasingly performed by Protestant churches late on the evening of December 24.

When is Christmas Celebrated?

In the Gregorian calendar, Christmas Festival is observed by many Christians on December 25. This date correlates to January 7, on the Gregorian calendar, for Eastern Orthodox churches that prefer the Julian calendar for liturgical observances. Gifts in most European countries are exchanged on Christmas Eve and in North America on Christmas Festival’s morning.

In most countries in the world, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, Christmas Day is a public holiday. On this day, government departments, educational facilities, several companies and post offices are closed. Check with the local transport authority for timetable changes if you intend to travel by public transport.

To know when is other Indian festivals, check Indian Festivals Calendar.

What is Christmas Festival?

Christmas in the Western Church is the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth, celebrated on December 25. The conventional December 25 date goes back as far as A.D., Huh. 273.

To this day, some people feel dissatisfied with it because they believe the pagan festivals held on that day are somehow tainted by it. Yet Christians have long claimed that not only does the gospel transcend society, but it changes it as well.

Many of the traditional customs of Christmas festival come from places other than the Church like gift-giving, tree decorating, light hanging, and feasting.

Santa Claus’s historical origins come from several sources. Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek Christian figure renowned for his charity to the poor, the earliest known inspiration for the legend is from the fourth century.

To many Americans, the spirit of giving embodies by Santa Claus. Many individuals not only offer gifts to loved ones to celebrate the spirit of Santa Claus during the Christmas holidays, but they also devote time and money to charities.

Why is Christmas Celebrated?

To mark the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, Christians all over the world celebrate Christmas Festival. The celebration of this festival has been synonymous with various rituals, and different cultures celebrates with different methods.

The word ‘Christmas‘ comes from Christ’s Mass (or Jesus). A Mass service is where Christians recall that Jesus died for us and then returned to life (which is also called Communion or Eucharist). The ‘Christ-Mass’ service was the only one permitted to take place after sunset (and the next day before sunrise), so at midnight, people had it! So we get the Christ-Mass name, shortened to Christmas time.

The birthday of Jesus was not when Christianity first began. Easter was the main holiday. The Bible doesn’t even mention Jesus’ actual date of birth but believed to have happened on January 6, not December 25. That date was still part of the Juvenal holiday.

How is Christmas Celebrated?

In some of the most common Christmas rituals, many of which have no Christian roots, Christians and non-Christians participate. Such traditions include decorating evergreen trees or mango or bamboo trees in India, feasting (in warm climates, picnics and fireworks are common) and exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.

It might be a gaggle of carolers if you’re in the United States, who have come to serenade you. If you’re in Argentina, neighbours might come to exchange gifts and light fireworks for you. It might be buddies dressed in costumes if you’re in Newfoundland who perform comedy sketches before you can guess who they are.

Christians display birth scenes in Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace, and mark their doors with crosses. On Christmas Eve, they fill up churches to see an annual procession. Children in Syria are hoping for gifts from the youngest camel of the three wise men, not Santa. Italy also has a version of the jolly fat man that is it’s own. According to legend, Befana, the Italian witch, delivers gifts to good children but kidnaps troublemakers for her hungry husband.

It’s also the moment that Charles Dickens’ excellent book ‘A Christmas Carol’ is set and that Carol’s singing was and is still quite popular. If you weren’t a carol singer in the past, you could go out wassailing or mumming in parts of the UK.

In the UK, there were lots of superstitions that said girls could find out the initials of the man they would marry on Christmas Eve. They did this by baking a special cake(dumbcake). One had to make the cake in silence and poke the initials at the top. Then when one went to bed, the person had to leave the cake by the fireplace, and true love had to come in at midnight and write his initials next to the person’s.

Importance of Christmas Tree

Christmas tree, an evergreen tree, often a pine or fir, as part of Christmas Festival celebrations, adorned with lights and ornaments. As indoor and outdoor decorations, the fresh-cut, potted, or artificial Christmas tree is in trend. While trees are historically associated with the symbolism of Christianity, their modern use is primarily secular. Many families put gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day around an indoor Christmas tree.

A tradition of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews was the use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolise everlasting life.

In the Scandinavian practises the houses get decorated and barn with evergreens at the New Year to frighten away the devil and of putting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time. Tree worship was popular among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity. The tradition of planting a Yule tree at the entrance or inside the house during the midwinter holidays found in Germany survived.

Who is Santa Claus?

The Santa Claus that we all have heard of and love which is the tall, jolly man with a white coloured beard in the red suit didn’t always look that way. Several individuals are shocked to learn that Santa portrayed as anything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf before 1931. He put on a bishop’s robe and the animal skin of a Norse huntsman.

Indeed, Santa was a tiny elflike character who helped the Union when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper’s Weekly in 1862. For 30 years, Nast continued to draw Santa, changing his coat’s colour from tan to the red he’s known for today.

Santa Claus was a boy himself, long before he lived in the North Pole and long before his annual Christmas visits brought joy to all the children of the world. Once upon a time, Santa was just an ordinary baby kid named Nicholas. The baby boy was just like every other boy, but his parents hoped that their only son would do great things. His name was Nicholas, meaning “hero of the people.”

Nicholas was a kind and compassionate boy, even at a young age. He supported the people in his village also. He shared his food with those people who had little to eat, always being the first to lend a helping hand, and bringing joy to both young and old alike. There was no friend better than the young Nicholas to have.

Jingle Bells Song

Jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun

It is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh

[Repeat Chorus]

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O’er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Hahaha

Bells on bobtail ring,

making spirit bright.

What fun it is to ride and to sing,

a sleighing song tonight.

[Repeat Chorus Two Times]

Now the ground is white

And the night is young

Take the sleigh tonight

And join us in this song

Just get a bobtailed bay

Get ready for a run

Then hitch him to a sleigh

And now we’ll have some fun!