Its All About Christmas

It is an accepted fact that the Christmas tree tradition is one that was brought to the shores of America by German immigrants who continued a practice that was popular in their former homeland. Today, a Christmas tree, even a miniature one, is present in just about every home at Christmas. It is therefore interesting to note some little-know facts about the Christmas Tree and other traditions related to Christmas.

The first interesting fact is the source of real Christmas Trees for some Americans. These can be bought at a Christmas Tree Farm or at many local stores and other places of business in just about every town and city across the country around Christmas time. But according to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy about 330,000 Christmas trees that are real through e-commerce or from a catalogue and have them shipped by mail-order.

The scent of real Christmas trees is the reason they are so popular. But as they stand silently in their decorative wonder, they also are providing another benefit. The Christmas Tree Association says the amount of oxygen produced on a daily basis by one acre of Christmas tree is enough to provide enough oxygen for 18 people. And during the first week, a Christmas Tree at home will use up to one quart of water each day to help retain its longevity for the many days of Christmas.

Since Christmas celebrations gained popularity in America, the Christmas Tree has always been a big tradition. During the 1950s however, artificial Christmas trees were not always green. It was very popular during those times to have artificial trees with other colors such as silver, pink and aqua. The appeal in having these colored Christmas trees may have been due to the fact that they looked shiny and bright and appeared like tinsel instead of green foliage.

An important ceremony related to the Christmas tree that gains national attention during the Christmas season is the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House. This tradition can be credited to President Calvin Coolidge who lit the first decorated Christmas tree outside at the White House in 1923.

The lighting of the National Christmas Tree has also been used to convey some symbolic meaning not related to Christmas. It was not lighted until Dec. 22 in 1963 because of a national mourning period of 30 days for the assassination of President Kennedy. And while Teddy Roosevelt was President he gave an order that banned the Christmas tree from the White House, not for the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, which caused him to become president, but for reasons related to the environment.

Also of note is that when the National Christmas Tree was lighted on Dec. 13 in 1984, temperatures were in the 70s during an unusually warm December. Christmas has been celebrated in the United States since the 1600s although it wasn’t always very popular. It took more than two centuries into the mid-late 1860s for Christmas to become a popular holiday season all across America.

So maybe the rest of the country owes the holiday of Christmas Day to the state of Alabama, which in 1836 became the first state to declare Dec. 25 a legal

holiday. It is interesting to note that on Christmas Day of 1789 Congress was in session. And to show how far ahead of the game Alabama was, it wasn’t until June 26, 1870 that the federal government declared Christmas as a federal holiday.

Although Christmas is based on the Christian religion, not all Christian groups celebrate the season. Among the Christian groups who do not celebrate Christmas and related traditions such as sending greeting cards are Jehovah Witnesses.

Jehovah Witnesses and other non-participating Christian groups say Christmas isn’t specifically mentioned in the Bible as a time or reason to celebrate and since they strictly adhere to the word of the Bible, they refuse to celebrate Christmas.

Christmas in Africa:

Christmas is celebrated throughout the African continent by Christian communities both large and small. There are roughly 350 million Christians in Africa. Christmas Carols are sung from the Congo to South Africa. On Christmas day, meats are roasted, gifts are exchanged and family visits made. The Coptic Christians in Ethiopia and Egypt celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January (rather than the 25th of December) because they follow a different calendar.

Christmas in North America:

In the United States and Canada, many elements of modern Christmas celebrations did not emerge until the 19th century. Before then Christmas had been an ordinary workday in many communities, particularly in New England, where early Puritan objections to Christmas celebrations remained highly influential. Among some groups, Christmas was an especially animated event, characterized by huge feasts, drunkenness, and raucous public partying. In an English tradition that survived in some parts of North America, Christmas revelers would dress in costume and progress from door to door to receive gifts of food and drink. Most holiday gifts were limited to small amounts of money and modest presents passed from the wealthy to the poor and from masters to their servants. Families almost never exchanged Christmas gifts among themselves.

Gift Giving:

People who are well-off generally buy gifts for family & friends but the holiday is not as commercial as it is American & European countries, because main emphasis is more on the religious part of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ than gift giving. Usually & most importantly, Christians buy a new set of clothes to be worn to the church service. Majority of African Christians are too poor to be able to afford presents for their children & there aren’t too many toy stores in rural Africa to shop at anyway. If gifts have to be exchanged in poorer communities they usually come in the form of school books, soap, cloth, candles and other practical goods.

Christmas Dinner:

As in most Christian cultures, celebrating Christmas dinner with friends and family is the second priority after attending church. Since Christmas is a public holiday in most countries people take the opportunity to visit friends and family. In East Africa goats are sold out at a blink of an eye at the local markets and roasted on Christmas day. In South Africa the sun is hot and the beaches are full of families enjoying braais (barbeques) or traditional Christmas dinners with paper hats, mince pies, turkey and plum pudding (a vestige of the British colonial legacy.) In Ghana Christmas dinner is not complete without fufu and okra soup and in Liberia rice, beef and biscuits are the order of the day. Zimbabweans make sure there are plenty of bread, jam and tea to eat along with their goat meat.

Church Services and Caroling:

The history of Christianity in Africa dates back to the 1st Century AD. Every missionary have heard & witnessed that Africans are very spiritual people. (Besides Christianity, the other main religions are Islam and indigenous beliefs). Going to church is generally the main focus of Christmas celebrations in Africa. Nativity scenes are played out, carols are sung and in some cases dances are performed.

One of my earliest Christmas memories in Malawi is watching groups of young children go door to door to perform dances and Christmas songs dressed in skirts made of leaves and using home-made instruments. They received a small gift of money in return. In many countries the processions after the Christmas Eve church service is a joyous occasion of music and dance. In the Gambia for example, people parade with large intricately made lanterns called fanals in the shape of boats or houses. Every country has their own unique celebrations no matter how small their Christian population.

Christmas Decorations:

Decorating shop fronts, mango trees, churches and homes is common throughout African Christian communities. There are some reports of fake snow decorating store fronts in Nairobi, palm trees laden with candles in Ghana or oil palms loaded with bells in Liberia.

Christmas in East Asia:

The eastern part of Asia comprises mainly of China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Vietnam. Christians in eastern part of Asia, which are China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea & Vietnam celebrate Christmas on 25th December by lighting their houses with beautiful paper lanterns and decorating their Christmas trees, which they call “Trees of Light,” with paper chains, paper flowers, and paper lanterns. Chinese Children hang muslin stockings and await a visit from Santa Claus, whom they call Dun Che Lao Ren (dwyn-chuh-lau-oh-run) which means “Christmas Old Man.”

There is no official celebration of Christmas in Japan because less than one percent of the Japanese population is Christian. But wherever Christmas is celebrated, the trees are decorated with small toys, dolls, ornaments, gold paper fans, lanterns, and even wind chimes. Candles are also placed on the branches. One of the most popular ornaments is the origami swan.

Every Korean church would have some kind of Christmas music program on Christmas day. Koreans also love to decorate for Christmas; every coffee shop is decorated for the season. Christmas day is spent shopping and most of the Korean families spending the day together going from shop to shop just “eye shopping”.

Christmas in India:

Christian community in India celebrates Christmas with splendor, fun and devotion. Celebrations of the festival begin on the eve of Christmas on 24th of December and continue till New Year’s Day. Christians across the country remember birth of Lord Jesus Christ by participating in special masses organized in churches. Celebrations of Christmas are marked by carols, cakes, candles and decoration of Christmas Tree. In several parts of India, especially in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, Christmas Festival has assumed as one of important holidays of India and is joyfully celebrated by people of all religions and communities join their Christian friends to make the most of the joyous celebrations.

Preparations for Christmas in India:

In Christian homes, preparations for Christmas begin at least a month in advance. People get their homes whitewashed and involve in spring cleaning of the house to give it a fresh new look. The women Ladies start preparations for the traditional Christmas cake which is anxiously awaited not just by the entire family but also by the neighbors. Shopping activity takes place as everyone buys new clothes for the festival. Christmas Gifts are also bought for friends, relatives and kids in the family. Christmas is also the time for family reunions because people staying in different cities for job or higher studies come back to their homes to celebrate this festive season with their near & dear ones.

Christmas in Goa:

Most exciting celebration of Christmas can be seen in the vivacious state of Goa. A large number of domestic and international tourists flock to the beaches Goa during Christmas festival to watch Goa at its cultural best. One can also get amused in the best of Goa music and dance during Christmas festivities. Catholics in Goa participate in the traditional midnight mass services locally called Missa de Galo or Cock Crow as they go on well into early hours of the morning.

On Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, a special meal is usually served. In some regions, particularly in Eastern Europe, these family feasts are preceded by a period of fasting. Candy and treats are part of Christmas celebration in many countries.

Christmas gifts are one of the key attractions of Christmas. As a parent, Christmas may be a giving you a headache because you need to know what is the most popular Christmas gifts are for kids. Christmas Gifts are quite a difficult thing to choose.

Christmas gifts are more about the sentiment than the price tag. Christmas gifts are not hard to find, since during the holiday seasons, there are lots of options for you. I would have to agree that homemade christmas gifts are a great idea and friends and family absolutely love them.

Make sure your homemade Christmas gifts are practical. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be huge as long as this year’s Christmas gifts are right on target. Personal Christmas gifts are becoming more and more popular each year. These Christmas gifts are great for the holidays and stuffing the stockings.

Wines and cigars as Christmas gifts are bound to strike the right chord for the men folk. To make your loved ones feel special Christmas gifts are ideal.

When it comes to Christmas gifts, many parents have no idea what the most popular Christmas gifts are for that year. But Christmas gifts are reciprocal; one cannot under-buy, one cannot be outdone. Most Christmas gifts are physical objects, capable of being wrapped and set under the tree.

Children’s Christmas gifts are probably the most exciting type of presents to shop for during the festive period, and are often the most affordable, too. Christmas gifts are a gesture of showing our love and concern for those who are special.

In most of the world, Christmas gifts are given at night on Christmas Eve, or in the morning on Christmas Day. Most exchange Christmas gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees, under which the Christmas gifts are stored. In fact, inexpensive handmade Christmas gifts are often the most cherished items under the tree. For most of the world, Christmas gifts are given at night on Christmas Eve (24 December) or alternatively in the morning on Christmas Day.

The best christmas gifts are always the unusual and different rather than the socks from Aunt Jessica or the tie from a sister Sue. Hand-made Christmas gifts are a fantastic idea and will make a lasting impression on the recipient for years to come.

Before you go out and buy some baby Christmas gifts, first realize for whom those baby Christmas gifts are really for: the parents. Christmas gifts are meant to be reminders of the gifts of the wisemen to the infant Jesus. Christmas gifts are usually wrapped beautifully in bright paper, sometimes with ribbons and bows and other adornments.

Christmas gifts are the most popular Christmas purchase, most adults have to buy Christmas gifts for lots of family members and close friends. A few good ideas for last minute Christmas gifts are ornaments, plants, wine baskets, hot chocolate or coffee baskets, coffee mugs, and many other ideas. Alternative Christmas gifts are a meaningful way to give a gift that keeps on giving.

Unique Christmas gifts are available for all budgets; just because a gift is individual does not mean that it has to be expensive. Christmas gifts are always great but there’s just something delightfully extra about receiving a gift for no particular reason. So once again I am reminded that the best Christmas gifts are not the ones you buy in the store. Skip the Boring Christmas Gifts this Year Christmas gifts are often bought last-minute and not a lot of thought is put into them. Favorite Christmas gifts are typically the most unlikely.

The Top Toys for Christmas Gifts This Year (joke list):

Paris Hilton Video Game

‘Victory in Iraq’ Board Game

Little ‘Big Brother’ Reality Video Set

Pamela Anderson Enhancement Set

‘American Idol’ No Hit Wonders CD, Volume 12

‘Lost’ Survival Gear

Republican Dominoes/House of Cards Set

Children’s Poker Set

Lego’s Duplo Checks and Balances

‘Obese Niece’ Doll

Real gift tips:

Barbie doll

Harry potter toys

Lord of the rings toys

Playstation 2 games

Tickle Me Elmo toy

Wii from Nintendo

Star car toy

Star Wars Ultimate Darth Vader

Dora The Explorer Bubble Console & DVD game

Steam Along Thomas Set

Santa Claus

The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicolas, Bishop of Myra, an area in Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children.  After his death around 340 AD he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas’ popularity throughout Europe. His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop’s mitre.  After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas.  Dutch colonists brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.

Other countries feature different gift bearers for the Christmas or Advent season: La Befana in Italy, The Three Kings in Spain, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, Christkind or the Christ Child in Switzerland and Austria; Father Christmas in England; and Pere Noël, Father Christmas, or the Christ Child in France.

In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper.  In the Middle Ages, a popular religious play depicted the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Christmas Trees

It is thought that protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light.  While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home.

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany.  The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas Tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England.

Christmas Stockings

According to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune.  This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood.

The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls’ plight, set forth to help.  Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman’s house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations.  They revered the plant since it had not roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward off evil spirits.  The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace, hence the origin of the kiss under the mistletoe.

Holly and Ivy

In Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of harsh winter weather, when it was thought that ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds.  Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.

Legend also has it that holly sprang from the footsteps of Christ as he walked the earth.  The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed.

Poinsettias

A native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828.  Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations.  One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ Child.  He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church.  Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch.  The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

Christmas Cards

A form of Christmas card began in England first when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card.  The first director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas Season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends.

He commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley for the illustration.  The card featured three panels, with the center panel depicting a family enjoying Christmas festivities and the card was inscribed with the message:  ”A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You”.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department store, had been purchasing and distributing children’s coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers for several years.  In 1939, the owners asked one of their own employees to create a book for them, thus saving money.  A copywriter, 34-year old Robert L May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year.  When May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” in 1947, the Rudolph phenomenon was born.  The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”.

Christmas Carols

Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but there were not Christmas carols.  They were pagan songs, sung at the winter solstice celebrations as the people danced round stone circles.  The word carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy.

Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations for Christmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of pagan ones.  Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write carols.  However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin.  This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when, in 1223, he started his nativity plays in Italy.  the people in the plays sang songs or “canticles” that told the story during the plays.  The new carols spread to France, Spain, Germany and other European countries.  Most of the best known carols such as Once in Royal David’s City and Away in a Manger are relatively recent having been written in America during the 19th century.

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Christmas is celebrating all over the world irrespective of language, country and Culture. People across the world celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the height of mercy who even in the crucified condition, prayed to forgive the people who have crucified him. As the Christianity has spread, the Christmas also spread all over the world. The celebration of Christmas varies from place to place and culture to culture. This is because the Christian missionaries have adopted the local culture in order to spread the religion fast.

Here I will give a brief introduction about Christmas celebration in Kerala. Kerala is a tiny state in India and speaks Malayalam. It considered one of the most educated states in India and sometimes they consider it as state with 100% literacy. The Christian are dominant people in southern states of Kottayam, pattanamthtta and Kollam and normally they also known as Achanyans. Here I will briefly write about the Christmas and its traditions in Kerala

By the start of December the Christmas carol groups will start visiting the houses of Christians in each parish and to sing the Carols. There are lot beautiful carol songs are available in Malayalam. However, the dominant one is our good old dingle bell.

Another special thing in Kerala and in India is the Christmas stars for Christmas. Outside of the house, People will hang beautiful star with lamp. This star you can find not only in Christian houses but also in other religion people’s houses, who is respecting and believing on Jesus.

Almost all Christian houses will have the Christmas tree and Christmas crib known as pulkoodu  for the Christmas.  There will be big pulkood in churches and Orphanages run by churches. And On Christmas day night there will special Prayers and on Christmas day there will Christmas lunch.

Christmas cards: -  May be the Christmas is the biggest religious festival celebrating in the world. As normal, there will highest number greeting cards will be sent for Christmas. Now days lot of online greeting card sites are providing high quality of Christmas greetings for free. You can find some good Christmas cards at 365greetings.com

Lights are the magic of Christmas. Who among us does not have at least a few treasured memories of traveling in the car as a child during the Winter months, staring out at all the outdoor Christmas decorations on the stores, homes and light posts that blurred past? The seemingly unending procession of string lights, lighted Christmas trees and outdoor Christmas sculptures greatly contribute to the warm feeling we call the Christmas spirit. There is no reason why anyone should have to spend a small fortune to evoke this special effect upon the own home or place of business. At Residential Landscape Lighting & Design, we offer an extensive selection of discount outdoor Christmas decorations that will help you create the Christmas spirit in whatever shape, size or color you choose!

Christmas String Lights.

Light strings are essential to any outdoor Christmas decoration scheme. They provide the foundation upon which more intricate decorations can be applied. Mini light strings can be used to accent the corners of your building, or outline architectural features such as doors or windows. Icicle string lights can be strung along eaves or overhangs, evoking a wintry feel even in the warmest of climates.

Christmas Rope Lights.

Christmas rope lights offer an interesting alternative to traditional string lights. Rope lights are more durable and consequently more versatile than incandescent string lights. Rope lights come in a variety of colors, including red, blue and white. Xmas Rope lights are cuttable, dimmable and long-lasting (average 25,000 hours of life!) LED rope lights are substantially more energy efficient than incandescent rope lights, and have an extraordinary long lamp life (60,000 hours for colors, and up to 100,000 hours for warm white.)

Christmas Outdoor Yard Art.

Once you have fully outlined your home or store, along with the pathways and lamp posts, with colorful strings of light, you should consider truly bringing your work to live with outdoor light sculptures. We have many types of yard art sculptures to choose from, featuring all of your favorite Xmas characters. Whether you want a small decorative sculpture to place upon the front wall of your home, such as a bell or angel, or a large sculpture to decorate your lawn, such as Santa, reindeer or a Peanuts display.

Outdoor Christmas Decoration Accessories

If you have existing fixtures you purchased from us, or anyone else, we have a good selection of accessories and replacement bulbs at discount prices. Whether you need C7 or C9 bulbs, or even specialty clips for attractively mounting string lights on your home or business.

LED-lit like its window-sized counterpart, this tree resembles a flat panel sign that can stand in a large window or hang on the side of a building. No one will miss the thousands of LED Christmas lights decorate the sculpture and provide a 30-direct view that is clear from any distance. With over 13 sizes ranging from 8 to 100 feet, this Christmas light sculpture looks equally appealing when viewed from afar or a focal point nearby. The lights of this LED holiday decoration come with intensity controls that control brightness and color, and they also include optional pre-programmed lighting themes. It offers the same aesthetic appeal as pre-lit artificial Christmas trees, but is also able to fit in places full-sized trees cannot.

Christmas is a conundrum for most people. It’s like a rich, octogenarian uncle. You love him, he’s insanely funny and provocative, he gives you really nice presents and just might leave you an Italian villa in his will. But he needs to be taken to the bathroom regularly, requires a lot of attention, is opinionated and makes you absolutely crazy when you have to take him to a fancy cocktail party because you never know when he’ll pass gas or say something really outrageous, both of which he does loudly.

On the one hand, we all have some gleeful anticipation of the season – the silly and heart-warming movies and TV specials, the decorations, kids singing carols at the mall and all those paid days off. And on the other hand, many of us dread the pressure and pace of Christmas cards, shopping, the crowds, and ultimately (gulp) the obligatory family gatherings.

This social psychosis complicates the season enough, but when you add in the rhetoric from the religious community The War on Christmas, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, etc. you introduce even deeper layers of self-condemnation and anxiety. What to do, what to do?

A good starting point is to unravel the multi-layered hairball of traditions and religious implications that have come to define Christmas. Like most of our modern heritage, there’s more to this kaleidoscopic than meets the eye. Once we can see what all is going on, then maybe we can bring some sanity and fun to the celebration of it.

The History of Christmas. Actually, we’re talking about the History of the Winter Solstice celebrations, which date back over 4000 years. Most of our “Christmas traditions” were originally rituals celebrated centuries before Christ was born. The giving of gifts, carnivals, parades, carolers going from house to house, holiday feasts, and church performances can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians (1500 BC).

Persians, Babylonians, Scandinavians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians all had elaborate rituals that were celebrated at the Winter Solstice intended to pay tribute to the mythological importance of the sun and to the perennial cycles of nature. But, don’t be too quick to dismiss the ancient traditions as being simply pagan rituals. In fact, they were VERY spiritually oriented.

It is true that the peoples that populated what is now the Middle East 3000 years before Christ were polytheistic they had numerous gods. But they were also VERY religious. A large part of their culture was focused on seeking to learn the will of the gods, and the early Winter Solstice traditions reflected that focus. The Romans decked the halls with holly and candles as a tribute to one of their most powerful gods, Apollo. The Scandinavians built huge bonfires and held feasts that lasted for days as a way to help their sun-god defeat the power of darkness. These bonfires and feasts are the beginnings of our famous “Yule” log – the “12 days of Yuletide” was a lengthy ceremony which heralded the power of their gods over the domain of evil.

These beautiful ceremonies and ancient traditions all sought to do what our modern Christian traditions now do celebrate the dominion of the supernatural forces of the cosmos over the earthly world of man. They sought to honor their gods, and sometimes even assist them, in the ongoing battle over darkness.

So, Who Put The “Christ” In Christmas In the First Place? Well, now, that’s an interesting, and not fully complete, historical detective story. The most popular conclusion by archeologists, biblical scholars and anthropologists, is that the pagan traditions were co-opted by the early Christian Church. In the first three hundred years after the death of Christ, there was no prescribed “feast” for the occasion of Christ’s birth. This was partly because no one actually knew when or where Christ was born and partly because the major Christian celebration was the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Some local monasteries and churches had their own “birthday” celebrations at different times of the year, but it wasn’t until the mid-4th Century AD that Christ’s birth became an official celebration, complete with a specific date.

Why did it happen then? Getting the diverse peoples of the Roman empire to reject their historical religions and raucous merriment in favor of the official religion of Christianity (so decreed in 350 AD) was no easy matter. Grudgingly, but inevitably, the church accepted the perennial revelry of its diverse citizenry (pagan though it was) and wisely decided to include those celebrations for their own agenda. In what many historians consider to be a stroke of public relations genius, in 320 AD, Pope Julius I proclaimed that the pagan celebration of the December 25th “Festival of the Sun” (Natalis Invicti, i.e. “The Nativity” ) would henceforth also celebrate the Birth of Christ – ta da! Enter the Official Birth Day of Christ.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia The Advent, by 402 AD the “Feast of the Birth of Christ” (the new interpretation of The Nativity) was practiced through out the Holy Roman Empire. The Nativity scene itself (you know, the livestock, the stable, etc.) didn’t emerge for another 800 years. In 1223, St Francis of Assisi originated the manger scene based on his interpretation of some little-known ecclesiastical customs. Somewhere around this time, the donkey that Mary rode to Bethlehem emerged as a character in the Nativity.

But, from its inception, there was dissension within the Church about Christmas celebrations. For centuries, many conservative church leaders condemned the revelry and aggressively criticized the endorsement of the sun-worshippers traditions. When the Orthodox pilgrims migrated to the Americas in 1620, Christmas revelry and symbolism were outlawed. Back in England in 1645, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans succeeded in outlawing “the heathen traditions” of Christmas celebrations throughout England. When Charles II returned to the English throne in 1660, he restored the popular holiday, but the custom had only scattered endorsement throughout the American colonies. After the Revolutionary War, many English customs, including the celebration of Christmas, fell out of favor entirely and didn’t begin to re-emerge in the United State until the 1800s.

When Americans did finally begin to embrace Christmas as a family holiday, old customs were unearthed. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, gift-giving and the early Christian traditions and stories. In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday, but it wasn’t until 1907 that Oklahoma finally joined the club and became the last state to do so. Christmas was declared an official US holiday in 1870. The first “official” use of Christmas decorations to lure in shoppers was at a NYC department store in 1900.

So what does that mean today? Basically, it means that there is no historical “truth” to any of the familiar observations we’ve come to embrace, whether we’re talking about the pagan celebrations or the religious ones. They are all made up. Not much sense in fighting, or fretting, over any of them if you ask me.

No One Has Taken The Christ Out Of Christmas. He’s still there if you want Him to be, but it never has been His private domain. What’s the problem? The Church snaked on the pagans to begin with, and it was a pretty successful strategy. Today, more people around the world practice the Christian traditions than ever before. Isn’t that enough? Remember, the Romans tried for about 1,000 years to make Christmas a purely Christian holiday and all they did was divide and antagonize the millions of people for whom it means something different. Don’t make the mistake that old Cromwell made. Go ahead and have it your way, it’s a beautiful tradition. But, let everyone else enjoy it their way.

Yes, Christmas Is Also About the Money. And for those who shake their heads with disgust about the commercialization of it, you guys need a quick reality check. Christmas shopping is the single most significant economic cycle in America. Hundreds of thousands of businesses rely on if for their very existence. From a commercial health point of view, if it didn’t already exist, someone would need to invent it. The money that gets spent around Christmas, for everything from twinkley little lights to airline tickets and pretty new cars is the fuel that keeps our economy plugging along all year. Forget the new homes, it’s the HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars spent at Christmas that keep America economically strong.

Christmas has a huge positive impact on other aspects of our culture. People are nicer and more tolerant. There have been truces and cease fire’s called during times of war for the sake of Christmas. More than half the charitable donations collected for ALL organizations in the US roll in during the Christmas season. Yes, I know, some of that has to do with end of year tax breaks, but it also has to do with Salvation Army red kettles, angle trees, and Goodwill donations. It’s a time of year when people feel a greater sense of social conscience and charitable organizations benefit from that feeling of good will. Too bad we don’t pony up all year through the way we do at Christmas.

What’s wrong with people paying more attention to each other, or with being delighted by the decorations and the music? Let’s cover our yards with blow up Santas and mechanical reindeer. Let’s turn our living rooms into little magical wonderlands of jolly old elves and candles and angels. Maybe if we spent more time getting in touch with the kid in ourselves we wouldn’t have so much interest in polluting the planet and killing people who have different political or religious views than we do. Who cares why we have this expanded consciousness of good will? Whether it comes from a belief in a particular God (or gods) or whether it is simply a willingness to open ourselves up to the most benevolent parts of our nature, what difference does it make? IT’S ALL MADE UP! Anything that elevates man’s humanity to man is a GOOD thing, no matter where it comes from!

Now, about that family stuff. I know it can be a pain in the ass. But, you know what? At some core level, we all long for a connection to our roots and our past. Is it so much to ask of ourselves to set aside our electro-media-stimulus-fast paced-gotta-pay-the-rent-on-the-beach-condo-somebody-please-entertain-me addiction to the very things that destroy the peace and harmony in our lives? C’mon, you’ve got 364 other days that you can obsess over getting ahead and being good enough and worrying about every little ounce you put on this year. You can afford to spend a fraction of your oh-so-important agenda getting in touch with your bloodline. Even if they’re all intolerable ass-holes, so what? Practice forgiveness and acceptance.

If you don’t want to send Christmas cards, don’t. The mailman will love you. The way I see it, anyone who keeps a check-list of who sent Christmas cards and then makes some kind of judgment about it needs to get a real life. And as for all that pressure to buy gifts… GET OVER IT! It isn’t going to kill you to get off your butt and think about other peoples delight. And speaking of butts, it isn’t going to kill you to stop kissing those of people you don’t really want to buy gifts for but do. Buy gifts for people you want to buy them for and be as generous as you want to be. If you don’t want to buy a gift, don’t. Sometimes it may be appropriate to make some type of gesture, but there are LOTS of things you can do other than buy the latest electronic gadget or such. Flowers, plants, candy or fruit work great. And you can always make a donation to YOUR favorite charity in the other person’s name. The No. 1 Rule is to have fun with your gift buying and put some personal thought into it. The No. 2 Rule is NO SUFFERING ALLOWED! (By the way, if you happen to think that books make a nice Christmas gift, then I’ve got a great one for you. Check out my book at “Your MEGAgiNormous Rules .)

The “Time” Complaint. Not enough time, too much to do, blah, blah, blah. Look here, if you don’t have enough time to have fun at Christmas you’re just confused about what’s important. I’m pretty sure that when you’re lying on your deathbed one of the things you WON’T be saying is “Gee, I wish I’d spent more time at the office and less time enjoying Christmas.” There are 525,600 minutes in a year, only about 1500 of which get devoted to really enjoying Christmas. What, are you crazy? Surely you can fit your hectic life into the other 524,000 minutes.

Christmas is too big to be confined to any single ideology. It belongs to all people and to all of history. It has endured for thousands of years because it brings people together and celebrates hope and renewal. It’s an excellent time of year that gives us permission to transcend our normal petty natures. We get to be kind and gentle, and care about others and do little things that let those others know we care. We get to have fun, darn it! What, your life is so full of fun you can’t stand anymore?

Stop fretting over what you perceive is wrong with it. It’s just stupid to turn it into a conflict or some type of litmus test that only serves to divide us. Take what you like from it and leave the rest. And let others enjoy it in their own way. There’s something for everyone in Christmas. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, it we just allow it to be. Have a holly jolly one!

If individuals were to be polled regarding their most favorite time of the year, probably the most often mentioned holiday would be Christmas. If you asked these same individuals to elaborate on their answer as to why it is the most favorite time of the year you would get a variety of answers. For instance, some of these answers could include their belief system surrounding the holiday, a time of sharing gifts, gathering of family members together, eating of special food, etc.

Another reason why Christmas is a popular time of the year is because of the Christmas decorations that are pulled out from storage immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday. These Christmas decorations are used to not only decorate the inside of the home, but are used as an outdoor Christmas decoration as well.

There are several benefits associated with that of an outdoor Christmas decoration; some of these benefits include the fact that family traditions are started or perpetuated, the sheer enjoyment of decorating the outside of the home and contests.

Types of the Outdoor Christmas Decoration That are Available

There are many types of the outdoor Christmas decoration that can adorn the outside of the home. These outdoor Christmas decorations can range from simple lights which hang from the edge of the roof to thematic Christmas symbols, such as Santa Claus and his reindeer or the manger scene, or can be as elaborate as a multitude of lights that cover every aspect of the outside of the home.

The most beneficial type of outdoor Christmas decoration would be those decorations that provide the most enjoyment for you and your family and symbolize what the true meaning of Christmas is to you.

Family Tradition

Many of the Christmas traditions that are celebrated today began many years ago to symbolize what Christmas represents. Some of those traditions include the Christmas tree, caroling, wreaths, etc. In addition, important parts of celebrating are the individual family traditions that continue or new family traditions that are started.

Some of these traditions include the special ornaments placed upon the Christmas tree, the gathering of the family together to bake those special Christmas cookies, the watching of special holiday movies during this time, etc. Another family tradition is the placement of outdoor Christmas decorations.

Keeping family traditions alive is an integral part of the celebration process as the family unites together. Decorating the outside of the familys home with an outdoor Christmas decoration can truly be an important part of maintaining the family unity and keeping its roots strong in the present and for future generations.

Enjoyment

Another important attribute of outdoor Christmas decorations is the enjoyment that a festively decorated home provides to others. So often, prior to Christmas day, families come together in the automobile and travel around from neighborhood to neighborhood to enjoy the outdoor Christmas decorations. This simple measure allows others to share in the beauty and wonderment of the holiday season and adds to the excitement in the hearts of children of all ages.

In addition, many cities and towns signal the beginning of the Christmas season with the putting up of outdoor Christmas decorations. This simple act has a tendency to unite the citizens of that community and focus their attention off of their own personal challenges and hardships.

Good Natured Competitiveness

Another benefit derived from outdoor Christmas decorations is the opportunity to compete with your neighbors for the bragging rights of which Christmas display is the most outstanding. Often this competitiveness is good natured and ultimately stirs individual neighbors to immerse themselves in the spirit of the holiday. This full participation of others brings value and adds to the richness of the celebration in providing good will to all.

Christmas is special. Christmas is magic. It is a time of warmth and peace. A season when we can revel unashamedly in nostalgia and tradition. The cynics amongst us have described Christmas as a period of preparations, invitations, anticipations, relations, frustrations, prostration and recuperation! But to most of us it is, above all else, a time of celebration. It always has been, and let’s hope it always will be.

In the Christian world Christmas is celebrated in remembrance of the birth of Christ but many of the traditions associated with a modern Christmas stem back many thousands of years.

In 440AD at a meeting held on December 25, the leaders of the Christian Church fixed that day as the date to observe the birth of Christ. It is literally the ‘Mass of Christ’. Yet, strangely, the rituals associated with this religious festival are of pagan origin and were celebrated long before Christ was born.

Since time immemorial it has been in Man’s nature to worship something, and because all life seems so dependent on that burning ball of fire in the sky, so vital to the success of harvests, early man went down on his knees and prayed to the sun. In the winter, the strength of the sun being less, it became necessary to slaughter animals for food, and these became the first religious sacrifices.

In December, the annual rebirth of the sun turned into an important festival, and many traditions and rituals became established.

In Rome on 25 December the Dies Natalis Invicti Solis was celebrated – the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun – sacred to Mithras, the god of light, and to Attis, the Phrygian sun god. The festival was known as the Saturnalia and was a period of celebrations from 17 December right through to the New Year (Kalends) when the Latins rejoiced that the days were getting longer and the power of the sun stronger.

It was a time of real merrymaking, when bonfires were lit, homes were decorated with special greenery, people gave each other presents, and there were lots of fun and games. We’re not talking about blowing up balloons and playing computer games, but an early form of charades in which slaves dressed up as their masters, and lords pretended to be servants, and it is said that people danced through the streets wearing very little except some blackened faces and a smile!

These pre-Christian celebrations didn’t just take place in ancient Rome, for at the same time in Europe the winter solstice, when the sun is farthest from the equator and at the point when it appears to be returning, became known as the Festival of Yule. In Britain, France (Gaul), Germany, Denmark, Sweden and especially Norway, the Yule or ‘Juul’ celebrations became the highlight of the year.

Yule logs and candles were lit to the gods Odin and Thor, houses were decorated with evergreens, Yule food and drink were prepared, and mistletoe was ceremoniously cut. Although over two thousand years old, the Yule traditions are still continued today.

In Britain, the Druids celebrated the Festival of Nolagh and it is thought by some that Stonehenge was built as a temple to the sun, constructed in such a way that it cast shadows wherever the sun happened to be.

In fact, practically every country in the world, from China to India, from South America to the Middle East, held celebrations at this time of year.

In Greece it was the birthday of Hercules, Ceres and Bacchus (an excuse to indulge in the grape) while the Egyptians claimed it as the feast day of Horus. But it was not until the fourth century that Pope Julius I decided that 25 December should be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ, and Christmas as we know it began.

We now celebrate Christmas every year, but with a little bit of pagan tradition: a Norse Yule log; Druid candles; a drop of wine from Saturnalia; and a feast from the winter solstice. The evergreens and mistletoe still decorate our homes, and each year we continue to give presents to those we love. That’s the magic of Christmas.

No sooner has Thanksgiving Day been celebrated with the family, than the thoughts of adorning the home with Christmas decorations begins. Often the Christmas decorations are packed away in the attic or other storage room within the house waiting to emerge and allow for cascading memories and joy to fall upon the home once again.

Often the decorations are priceless in nature not because of their monetary value, but because of the richness of the familys memories that they hold. Christmas decorations such as the babys first ornament for example or the picture of your little girl on an ornament that was made in kindergarten or those paper chains that were made by your little boy in first grade are truly fantastic.

History of Christmas Decorations

Much of the history surrounding it has to do with a belief in the spiritual world. For example many centuries ago individuals believed in adorning bushes during the winter season. The rationale for this action was to make these bushes appealing to the spirits who they felt had disappeared in their attempts to take refuge from the harsh weather.

As this practice evolved, the winter foliage was taken into an individuals home. This action allowed for the spirits, located with in the plant, to be sheltered from the elements during the winter season. In addition, it was believed that this greenery was to be returned to the outdoors following the end of the Christmas season in order to prevent adversity from falling upon the household. Early day followers of this belief system believed that the spring season began on February 2nd.

These pagan beliefs eventually became part of the Christian faith as St. Gregory realized that in order to reach the masses certain rituals needed to be incorporated into the churchs belief system. The mainstay of Christmas decorations remained through the use of the branch from an evergreen tree. Eventually color was added to Christmas decorations through the use of the branches of the holly which was adorned with red berries. Eventually red mistletoe was added to the mix as it also provided a contrast to the greenness of the branch.

The Glass Ornament

The art of producing objects made of glass is thought to have originated in Bohemia or modern-day Czechoslovakia. Originally, these glass balls were gathered up by the enterprising wives of husbands who practiced the trade of glass blowing. The wives, in order to make them more appealing, would decorate them with a silver nitrate solution and take them to market to be sold.

Eventually, the process of manufacturing these ornamental balls became easier and could take on different shapes through the use of wooden moulds. Somehow, this trade was exported to England where an individuals prestige and affluence was measured by the number of these glass ornaments placed upon the Christmas tree.

Todays Christmas Decorations

Today, glass ornaments are still a traditional part of Christmas decorations. However, it seems that along with the traditional Christmas glass ornaments are a variety of other decorative items that adorn the Christmas tree. These items include the traditional silver and gold garland, candy canes and popcorn strings. In addition, are many other decorative items that capture the popularity of the present day fads, and these Christmas decorations could include cartoon figurines, comic book figures as well as symbols of ones faith.