Christmas is the most popular and colourful holiday celebrated by Christians all over the world. The word Christmas comes from "Christ's Mass", the Mass said in the Roman Catholic church to honour the birth of Jesus Christ. It is generally held on December 25th, but the Russian and other Eastern Orthodox churches (they follow the Julian calendar) celebrate Christmas on January 7th.
HISTORY
Although Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, the actual date of Christ's birth is not known. The earliest Christians did not even set aside a special day for observing the Nativity, or Christ's birth. For more than three centuries Christ's Mass was a movable feast.
The celebration of Christ's birth on December 25th began in Rome in the 4th century. It replaced the two pagan celebrations - the festi- val of rebirth of the sun and the feast of the god Saturn (Saturnalia). That is why it is not surprising that so many Christmas customs go back to pagan times.
From Rome, the December holiday spread to others are relatively new. Christians everywhere. For several centuries Christmas was kept only as a church festival. Gradually ,however, it became a public holiday marked by feasting and merrymaking.
In 1644 the English Puritans forbade the keeping of Christmas by Act of Parliament, on the grounds that it was a pagan festival. It was revived when Charles II came to throne in 1660.
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CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas. Some of them go back to pagan times, others are relatively new.
CHRISTMAS TREE
The Christmas tree that now spreads its lighted and decorated branches every year in so many different countries came originally from Germany. In pre-Christian times evergreens, plants that remain green all the year-round were worshipped as symbols of eternal life. In medieval Germany, an evergreen hung with apples was part of a Christmas play about the Garden of Eden. The first trees had no candles.
The custom of having a Christmas tree decorated with candles and hung with presents came to Britain with the craze for German things that followed Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert (he was German). In 1841 they had alighted tree at Windsor Castle. The event was widely reported, naturally. A few years later, nearly every house in Britain had a Christmas tree.
Very soon the Christmas tree spread outwards from the home into the churches and streets. Now all big cities have Christmas trees set up in squares and parks.
Perhaps the most famous Christmas tree stands every year in Trafalgar Square, close to Nelson's Column. It is a gift from the people of Norway. The tree is immensely tall and brilliantly decorated. Right at the top is a large shining star. Bright, shining balls of different colours and different sizes cover the tree from top to bottom. No wonder whole families - boys and girls, and grown-ups too come to look at it.
KEYWORDS#1
- Christmas
- colourful
- to celebrate
- Christian
- mass
- Roman
- church
- to honour
- birth
- Jesus Christ
- generally
- to hold
- Orthdox
- Julian calendar
- actual
- to set aside
- to observe
- the Nativity
- movable feast
- to replace
- pagan
- festival
- rebirth
- Saturn
KEYWORDS#2
- Satirnalia
- to go back to
- to spread
- to keep (kept)
- gradually
- to feast
- merryymaking
- Puritans
- to forbid
- Act of Parliamnet
- on the grounds that
- to revive
- Charles II
- to come to throne
- custom
- relatively
- Christmas tree
- to light
- to decorate
- branch
- originally
- Germany
- pre-Christian
KEYWORDS#3
- evergreen
- to remain
- all the year-round
- to worship
- symbol
- eternal
- mediaval
- hang
- garden of Eden
- candle
- craze
- Queen Victoria
- Prince Albert
- Winsdor Castle
- to report
- outwards
- to set up
- Trafagar Square
- close
- Nelson's column
- gift
- Norway
Printed by Polina Sh.
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