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CHRISTMAS

ITALIA PAULINA MELÉNDEZ DE LA O  

 

Do you like Christmas? Do you like receiving gifts and being with your family? In this article we talk about this topic… Are you ready?

Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring birth of Jesus. Has evolved into a world wide religious and secular celebration incorporating many Christian tradition into this festivities.

The traditional date is December 25 goes back as far as 273 a.C. Two pagan festivals honoring the sun were also celebrated on that day and it´s possible that December 25 was close to counteract the influence paganism.

The Christian Meaning behind ancient traditions.

©     Evergreen Threes were the symbol of eternal life. Martin Luther introduced them to the Reformation Church as a picture of endless life in Christ.

©     Candles are a picture that Christ is the light of the world.

©     Red is a color of Christmas that speaks of Christ´s blood and death.

©     Gifts are reminder of the gifts of the Magi to baby Jesus.

SANTA CLAUS

In 1822 Clement Moore wrote a poem for children that has never been forgotten. It was titled “Twas the night before Christmas…”

Santa Claus is a dutch word that is actually “Sinter Claus” or “Saint Nicholas”. The custom of giving gifts to children has multiple precedents and regional variants. In ancient times parties were held in Rome – in mid December – in honor of Saturn, at the end pf which children received gifts from all elders.   For me, Christmas is one of the best times of the year because you can live with your whole family, the children have the emotion that Santa Claus bringing them gifts and they eat very delicious food prepared by loved ones.