What is Christmas?
Quite literally, Christmas means Christ's Masse - a celebration of the birth of Jesus. The substitution of Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi that is represented by the glyph "X".
What would a Christian say about Christmas?
They would say it is a time to forgive and to get together and rejoice that God gave Jesus to the world to be the saviour. It is also a time to be charitable and kind to people less fortunate.
What makes Christmas time special to me?
Christmas is a special time when you get presents and there is lots of food!
Name some of the traditions in Ilkeston:
The lighting ceremony, Santa at the co-op, Midnight mass
Give one example of how Christmas is celebrated around the world:
In Turkey, people dress-up in white robes and wear enormous hats. When a candle is put in it looks like stained glass.
It would depend where you came from, but one thing that runs in all the legends is that he brings gifts. The Turkish believe that Saint Nicholas, or Noel Baba, is the patron saint of the Orthodox religion.
What were Christmas cards originally?
Traditionally, Christmas cards showed pictures of Mary and Joseph, but more modern ones are jokes, Father Christmas or winter pictures. The first Christmas cards were delivered in 1840 in England and the first Christmas stamp was produced in Canada in 1898.
Why do we have Christmas trees?
From the times of the Vikings, people would decorate trees in winter to encourage the tree spirits to return. They would decorate them with coloured cloth.
What does the word Carol mean?
The word carol comes from the ancient Greek choros, which means 'dancing in a circle' and the old French Carole, meaning 'song to accompany dancing'. Oliver Cromwell banned carol singing in churches from 1647 to 1660. Instead of singing in church, people went door-to-door caroling.
Wassail is an ale based drink seasoned with spices and honey. It was served in larger silver or pewter {tin and lead alloy}. The wassail bowl would be passed around with the greeting, "wassail".
Why is the poinsettia plant connected with Christmas?
In a Mexican legend, a young girl meets an angel who tells her to pick some weeds. She kneels by the roadside and gathers a great big hand full of common weeds. She makes her way to a small chapel where she places her offering on the alter. The moment she does, they burst into poinsettias and her sorrow is transformed into joy.
The pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round; representing the everlasting hope of mankind and all the needles point heavenwards making it a symbol of mans thoughts turning towards heaven
The star at the top of the Christmas tree represents the shining star that led the three wise men to the stable where Jesus was born. The heavenly sign of a promise from long ago. God promised a saviour for the world.
The angel Gabrielle told Mary that she was to bear the Messiah. The angels also told the shepherd of the news.
The shape of the sugar cane represents the shepherd's crook and reminds us that Jesus is our shepherd and he protects us.
Represents immortality and also represents the crown of thorns and the blood that Jesus shed for the world.
The sound of the bell guides lost sheep home. It reminds us that when we are lost, Jesus will guide us too.
Many people decorate fruitcakes to eat at Christmas. This tradition stems back to the Celts, who believed that the sun stood still around this time of year (the Winter Solstice). An enormous log was selected from the forest and anyone who helped drag the log back to the castle would have good luck... <click for more>
The log was decorated and doused with wine. It was lit from a fragment of the previous year's Yule log and had to be kept burning for the twelve days of Christmas. They thought that the heat and light would encourage the sun to start moving again.
The Twelve Days of Christmas is thought,to be a secret religious code. Sung by Roman Catholics who were banned from openly practicing their religion, used the song as a to symbolize aspects of their faith. "My True Love" represents God. If you add together the amount of all of the gifts given throughout the song, you get 364. Add to that Christmas day and you have a gift every day of the year.
Who brought Christmas trees to England?
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, popularized indoor Christmas trees when he brought them back from Germany in 1841.
When did decorating Christmas trees begin?
Strings of lights were used as decorations just three years after Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Woolworth's produced their first set of decorations in 1880. Before then, Victorians used candles to remind people about Jesus, the light of the world. Electric lights were much safer than candles!
In Slovakia, children have "Mikal Mail" where they exchange presents. There might be a small present for the teacher too!
The word Advent is derived from the Latin word Adventus, which signifies the arrival of Christ.
Advent occurs during the four weeks BEFORE Christmas. Click on "24" on the Advent Calendar above.
On Christmas eve, british children hang stockings by the fire, hoping for presents. In Hungry, children polish boots and leave them out for Saint Nicholas. If they've been good, they will get chocolate. If they've been bad, they will only get sticks!