Christmas Festival - The Arrival of the Lord Jeasus Christ

Here comes the Christmas, celebrating Birthday of Lord Jesus Christ on 25th of Dec. The time when the whole arena echoes with Charismas Bell and Churches resounds with Corals and Mass. Exchange gifts with your friends and relatives and make your own delicious Plum Cakes and along with variety of other Christmas. Also the time when children get busy in writing letters to Santa Claus and getting the wish completed.

Christmas Celebrations

Modern day celebrations of the Christmas Eve are characterized by exchanging gifts, attending mass, singing Christmas carols, giving Christmas cards to one another, display of various decorations such as lights, candles, mistletoe, nicely decorated Christmas Tree etc. Santa Claus who is also reoffered to as the Father of Christmas is a widely recognized mythological figure who is thought of to get gifts for children on Christmas. Christmas festivities continue through the 12 days of Christmas and are symbolized by bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals (parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions.

Origin of the Word Christmas Derived from Christs Mass

The word Christmas has been derived from the combined meaning of the phrase Christs Mass. The word Mass refers to celebration of the Catholic Church and Christs Mass refers to the celebration of the Catholic Church centered on Jesus Christ or the Son of God. Christs Mass has been derived from the phrase Cristes m?e which finds its origin from Greek and Latin. The first word Cristes has been derived from the Greek word Christos and Maesse has been derived from the Latin word Missa. Christmas is often abbreviated as Xmas. This is because Chi which is the first letter in the word Christ is represented as X in Greek. Hence, the abbreviation Xmas was formed.

History of Christmas and the Birth of Jesus Christ

Prior to the 18th Century, Christmas was popularly believed to be the birth date of Jesus Christ. However, in the early 18th Century, many scholars like Isaac Newton, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski and many more started proposing other theories for the celebration of Christmas on the 25th of December. This was because the true date of the birth of Jesus Christ is not known as even the Bible has references to more than one date. Some believed Christmas Day to correspond with the winter solstice i.e. the onset of winter.

Then there were others who believed that the day of Christmas was calculated as 9 months after the Annunciation (March 25) which according to Christian mythology is the day it was revealed to Mother Mary by the Angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child who would be born as the Son of God.

However, the fact is that the history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years to the ancient Mesopotamians. Many of our Christmas traditions were being celebrated centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Persians and the Babylonians also celebrated a similar festival which was called the Sacaea. The celebration for the same included the exchanging of places between the slaves and the masters such that the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.

The Roman's celebrated their festival which was called Saturnalia to honor their God Saturn. Saturnalia began in the middle of December and ended January 1st. The celebration included visiting friends, big festive meals, masquerades in the streets and the exchange of gifts. They decorated their halls lit up green trees with candles. During this period also the masters and slaves would exchange places.

Saturnalia did not go well with the Christians as they didnt want to honor a Non-Christian God. Initially, the Church forbid this kind of celebration but it was to no avail. Eventually, the Church decided that the celebration should be made fit for the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The Church was eventually able be make the Saturnalia festival unpopular by and bringing the joy and cheer to the celebration of Christmas. The exact day of the birth of Christ is not known for sure. By the late 300's, Christianity had became the official religion of the Roman Empire and by 1100, Christmas had become the most important religious festival in Europe; and Saint Nicholas was a symbol of gift giving in many European countries.

The Legend of Santa Claus

The modern day image of Santa has emerged from the ideas and the sketches of a famous cartoonist of the famous 19th century cartoonist, Thomas Nast. He drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The legend associated with Santa Claus says that he resides in the North Pole. Santa Claus lives with a large number of magical elves and flying reindeers, Rudolf the reindeer being the most famous with a Christmas Carol after him. He makes a list of children throughout the world and then delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other gifts to them all on the night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the reindeer that pull his sleigh. Santa Claus is supposed to climb down the chimney to deliver the gifts to the children when they are asleep.

Christmas Tree - A Ravishing Charm
The Christmas tree plays an important role in the celebration of Christmas and as part of the Christmas traditions, it is beautifully lit and decorated with lights, candles, stars, balloons and other decorative materials along with edible goodies. It is also a tradition to hide all the gifts under a Christmas tree or inside a sock in the case of children and be distributed on Christmas Day. A Christmas tree is a beautiful sight and sparkles and shimmers with lights and other decorative materials.

Christmas Food And Recipes

Christmas specialties

includes apple cider, turkey, custard, candy, champagne, Christmas cookies, fruitcake, gingerbread, ham, hot chocolate, all sorts of pies like apple, pineapple, pumpkin etc. I am including a recipe to make delicious Christmas Cookies for all you Christmas lovers out there. These can be made with or without icing.

The ingredients are :

3 cups flour
teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon baking powder
cup butter at room temperature
cup shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
teaspoon salt
For Icing (Optional)
1 box confection sugar
several different small colored bottles of food coloring

Preparation :
Put all the dry ingredients together and mix them well.Similarly, mix the wet ingredients. Remember, both have to be mixed seperately.Then combine all the ingredients well together and keep the batter in the refrigerator for minimum one hour.Take some amount of dough, not more than the amount that fits in your fist and flatten it with the help of a rolling pin on a to about a inch thickness.Then cut the dough in the shape you want and repeat repeat.Bake for 5-6 minutes and watch the cookies carefully to see when they are the right color. And your cookies are ready to eat and be enjoyed.

Writer's Notes : The festivities and celebrations are the core love in my writing. This time I have come out with some detailed understanding of Christianity and the celebrations associated with Christmas, which I have tried to display through my article writing. Can enjoy more Christmas Festivities (http://www.surfindia.com/festivals/christmas.html).