‘Christmas’ is the celebration, a holiday, which is observed on 25th of December every year, that is on the month of Poush according to the nepali calendar. It in the occasion of birth of Lord Jesus Christ. It is celebrated by billions of people all over the world, by all the people following Christianity, and by a massive number of non-Christians as well. The Christmas Day is a public holiday in most of the countries. The Christmas Tree and Santa Claus form a part of Christmas celebration in present days, along with light, joy, gifts and fiestas.
History
The Europeans had been celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of Winter, even before the birth of Jesus Christ, which happens to be similar to the days which is celebrated as Christmas Day now. The end of December was the perfect time for them to celebrate, as most of the cattle were slaughtered, and they had enough wine and meat. The trend continued for centuries, till the birth of Jesus Christ was widely known, and the day actually started being celebrated as Christmas. The exact birth of Jesus Christ, however, was disputed in itself, and many of the Eastern Christians used to celebrate in January 6th, till some evidences showed the date to be 25th December. Only from the 3rd Century, 25th December became the date for the Christians to celebrate the day as Christmas, which continues till now. The ways to celebrate the festival in Europe was widely changed in the 17th century AD, when several invasions took place. In USA, the Christmas was not much popular till the 19th century.
Christmas Tree
People in the ancient days believed that the plants or trees which remain evergreen all over the year helped to keep them away from evils, ghosts, bad spirits or illness. The pine, fir, or spruce trees were most common among them, and they used to hang the evergreen bough in their doors and windows. The trend continued to develop, which was later started to called as ‘Christmas Tree’. Nowadays, several artificial Christmas Trees are manufactured and millions of Christmas Trees are sold all over the world, in the festival.
Santa Claus
The history of Santa Claus dates back to 3rd century AD. According to the legends, in 280 AD, there was a monk called St. Nicholas, who lived in Patara, which these days lies in Turkey. He was widely admired for his pity and kindness, as he gave away all his inherited wealth and travelled across the country helping the poor and the needy. His popularity spread all over the world later, also evolving his Dutch name Sinter Klaas to Santa Claus, and now is one of the basic aspects of Christmas. Nowadays, Santa Claus is mostly dressed in red hood, along with a red Santa cap, and is believed to bring gifts to the people, and is loved mostly by the children.
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