India 7 November 2016: Every year Christmas is celebrated on December 25th and is marked as the birthday of Jesus Christ. People everywhere celebrate the beginning of the Christian liturgical year and starts with the 12 days of Christmastide. This whole event ends after the twelfth night. Christmas is a festival celebrated with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm by every Christian and also non-Christians.
Christmas is known to bring family and loved ones together. During christmas time family and friends come together and relish the festive season with delicacies and music. Music is an integral part of the christmas festivities and the celebrations. During Christmas time everyone loves hearing Christmas carols like “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and “Winter Wonderland”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and many more. Christmas celebrations begin with visiting the church and attending the Holy Mass. Some places also have children enact the entire event and indulge in carol singing. During Christmas time christians all over the world decorate their home and also make cribs at home.
Mythological story and the birth of Jesus Christ:
To help you understand how exactly the celebration of christmas started, lets look back at some history. In the Bible there are two accounts which talk about the birth of Jesus Christ. You can find these accounts in the Gospel of Matthew 1:18, and the Gospel of Luke 1:26 and 2:40. These passages from the bible mention that Mother Virgin Mary was engaged to Joseph, when she conceived miraculously through the Holy Spirit, of which she was foretold by an angel. The angel also told her that the name of the child would be Jesus and he was the Messiah. Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in the city of Bethlehem.
The passage says that Jesus was born in a stable surrounded by farm animals, Mother Mary wrapped baby jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. All the Shepherds from the nearby fields came to see baby jesus after been informed about by an angel. These shepherds were the first to see baby jesus. The bible also talks about three kings named Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar also visited baby Jesus. These three kings were led to the location of the baby following a mysterious star that is known as the Star of Bethlehem.
Santa Claus and his history:
The legend of santa claus can be dated back to the 4 century. A Turkish bishop named Saint Nicholas, would leave gifts and sweets for kids during christmas season. Soon the children in turkey started putting shoes or stockings near the fireplace so that saint nicholas could come and put gifts in them. It is also believed that Santa Claus came from North America and was named as Sinter Klass by Dutch children. As per most of the movies and tv series we have seen Santa Claus is depicted as a grandfatherly man who has a round and big belly, bushy white beard and he wears a red and white suit. Santa Claus is one of the most loved icon and is known for his famous laugh Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
Nativity scene or crib decoration:
All around the world during christmas season people make a nativity scene or most commonly known as crib at home, It is one of the most special exhibition, which is showcased during the Christmas season. The cribs made at christian homes actually symbolizes the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ. To make a crib people use the idol of infant Jesus, his mother Mary and Joseph and some other characters like shepherds, sheep and angels.
Over all Decorations:
Christians decorate their homes mostly with heart-shaped leaves of ivy, which are said to symbolize Jesus coming down to Earth. People also use Red berries which are known to represent the Crown of Thorns which was worn by jesus at the time of crucifixion. During the christmas season decorations are mostly done using red, green and golden colors. These colors symbolize certain things in the life of Jesus. Color Red denotes the blood of Jesus, green stands for eternal life and golden is for royalty.
Another tradition followed by christians during christmas is to decorate the Christmas tree wherein they use an oak tree and it is decorated using Bells, stars, candles, candy, stockings and angels. It’s under this tree where all the gifts are placed in the homes.
Another tradition followed by christians during christmas is to decorate the Christmas tree wherein they use an oak tree and it is decorated using Bells, stars, candles, candy, stockings and angels. It’s under this tree where all the gifts are placed in the homes.
So now that you know the Significance of the birth of Jesus Christ – the story of why Christmas is celebrated, Go ahead and hang your stockings and wait for your gifts from Santa Claus. May this Advent Season bring you good news.