Christmas DayWhat is ChristmasThe word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "

Christmas Day

What is Christmas

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass". Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 AD.

Christmas is both a holiday and a Holy Day. In America it is the biggest event of the year(especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions. It is an important day on the religious calendar. The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday(other federal holidays are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of 6 holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision(New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption(Mary's Assumption into heaven, August 15), All

Saints(November 1), and the Immaculate Conception(December 8).

Why does everyone give each other presents on Christmas day？

The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men(the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh(没药)." As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800's. The Santa Claus story combined with an amazing retailing phenomena that has grown since the turn of the century has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition.

Why is there a small evergreen tree in your living room？

This is a German tradition, started as early as 700 A.D. In the 1800's the tradition of a Christmas Tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

Why have you decorated this evergreen with ornaments, lights, fake snow and plastic tinsel？

In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880 Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas Tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel...Who knows？ It's probably related to the song "White Christmas".

Why do you have holly drape over the mantel and staircase？

Mistletoe(槲寄生) has apparently been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals. According to the book Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things by Charles Panati, "the church forbade the use of mistletoe in any form, mindful of its idolatrous associations. As a substitute, it suggested holly(冬青属植物). The sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Holly became a nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the middle ages. Surprisingly, as late as the 20th century, there were churches in England that forbade the wearing of mistletoe sprigs and corsages during services."

Why is there a big log in the fireplace？

According to the book The Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins by William and Mary Morris, "Yuletide for Christmastime is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the

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