Christmas History :: essays research papers

Christmas HistoryThe tidings Christmas comes from the old slope "Cristes maesse" meaning ChristsMass. The Holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The existent birthday ofJesus is not known therefore, the early Church grows in the 4th century fixedthe day around the old roman type Saturnalia festival (17 - 21 declination), atraditional pagan festivity. The starting mention of the birthday of Jesus is fromthe year 354 AD. Gradually all Christian churches, except Armenians whocelebrate Christmas on January 6 (the date of the baptism of Jesus as well asthe day of the three Magi), accepted the date of December 25th.In American/English tradition, Christmas Day itself is the day for opening giftsbrought by jolly old St. Nick. Many of our current American ideals about the management Christmas ought to be, derive from the English Victorian Christmas, such asthat described in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol."The caroling, the gifts, the feast, and the wishing of good cheer to all - theseingredients came together to make that special Christmas atmosphere.The custom of gift- gravid on Christmas goes back to Roman festivals ofSaturnalia and Kalends. The real first gifts were simple items such as twigsfrom a sacred plantation as good luck emblems. Soon that escalated to food, smallitems of jewelry, candles, and statues of gods. To the early Church, gift-giving at this time was a pagan holdover and therefore intemperately frowned upon.However, people would not part with it, and some justification was found in theoriginal gift giving of the Magi, and from figures such as St. Nicholas. By the center(a) ages gift giving was accepted. Before then it was more common to convince gifts on New Years Day or Twelfth Night.Santa Claus is known by British children as capture Christmas. Father Christmas,these days, is quite similar to the American Santa, but his direct ancestor is acertain pagan tincture who regularly appe ard in medieval mummers play s. Theold-fashioned Father Christmas was depicted corroding long robes with sprigs ofholly in his long white hair. Children write letters to Father Christmasdetailing their requests, but instead of dropping them in the mailbox, theletters are tossed into the fireplace. The draft carries the letters up thechimney, and theoretically, Father Christmas reads the smoke. Gifts are openedChristmas afternoon.From the English we get a story to explain the custom of hanging stockings fromthe mantelpiece. Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while comingdown the chimney. The coins would fuddle fallen through the ash grate and been