Merry Christmas to all the steemitians. Christmas is festive of Love, as God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to the world, such that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life and always remain close to god. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. His teaching always contain act of love, hope and salvation. And Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love, hope and salvation
In today's post I am going to state some amazing facts about Christmas that will blow your mind
THE DATE
Christmas is celebrated as mark of birth of Jesus Christ, but there was no mention of 25th December in bible, in fact many theologians and historians believe that Jesus was born sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD. May be 25th December was chosen because it coincided with the ancient Roman festival Saturnalia (held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December), which was celebrated in honor of the god Saturn with partying, gambling, and gift-giving.
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Christian use Pine tree as Christmas tree. It's also called evergreen tree as they stayed green throughout the ‘dark half’ of the year. It symbolizes (according to Celtics)
• Strength
• Invincibility
• Determination
• Immortality
• Revitalization
by exalting the value of life and becoming sign of undying life. It reminds Christians of the "tree of life" of Genesis 2:9, an image of Christ, the supreme gift of God to humanity. It's also often said to represent God's everlasting love for humanity and eternal life. Germans are said to be the first to bring “Christmas trees” into their homes at the holidays and decorate them with bells and lights.
THE GIFT
The well-known reason we give presents at Christmas is to symbolize the gifts given to baby Jesus by the three wise men. But one may also find its roots from the Saturnalia tradition that required revelers to offer up rituals to the gods. Because of this Christmas was not immediately accepted by the religious festival. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston. You were fined if you were caught celebrating Christmas.
THE SANTA CLAUS
Santa Claus roots can be found from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop living in now Turkey in the fourth century AD. St. Nicholas had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy and poor. When sainted, he became the protector of children. After his death, the legend of St. Nicholas spread. St. Nick’s name became Saint-Nicolaas (in Dutch), or Sainter Klaas for short, which is know as Santa Claus. The look of todays Santa Claus come from a meeting of 'The New York Historical Society' in year 1804, where member John Pintard handed out wooden cutouts of jolly old St. Nicholas in front of stockings filled with toys.Though Santa Claus has worn blue and white and green in the past, his traditional red suit came from a 1930s ad by Coca Cola.
THE STOCKING
Santa Claus delivering presents comes from Holland’s celebration of St. Nicholas’ feast day on December 6. Children would leave shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys, out the night before and, in the morning, would find little gifts that St. Nicholas would leave them. And stockings come from the famous story in St. Nicholas legends, it is about a poor man with three daughters who couldn’t afford the dowry to have them married. One night, St. Nicholas dropped a bag full of gold down the man’s chimney so that his oldest daughter would be able to get married, and the bag fell into a stocking that was drying by the fire.
THE SNOW
The association of snow and Christmas is widely thought to be the fault of Charles Dickens as he employs it in simile here to express just how cold-hearted Scrooge is in A Christmas Carol.
Dickens wrote‘No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often “came down” handsomely and Scrooge never did.’And*
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas is another example of snow association with Christmas used to evoke nostalgia about festive seasons passing.
Thomas wrote, ‘All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea…It was snowing. It was always snowing at Christmas.’
There are also few examples about snow association with Christmas
At last I want to say - "In Christmas what you get for present is not important, but what you share with others is important" Do you agree?
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- A casual Writer
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