- history and custom

Christmas is Christian holiday. It is festival celebrate birth of Christ. We don’t know exactly date of birth of Jesus, but most Christian celebrates Christmas on 25 th December. Russian Orthodox celebrates it on 7 th January. Christmas period starts for Advent(four weeks before Christmas) and end on Three Kings(6 th January).

V.Father Christmas II.Christmas custom VI.Interesting facts III.Christian carols and crips I.History of Christmas

Story about birth of Christ we can to find in New Testament, in the Gospel according to saint Luke and Matthew. Pregnant Maria with her husband- Joseph had to walk to Bethlehem, because Roman emperor ordered census in whole dependent (to him) country. In crowded small town they can’t found place in none of inn, so they stopped in stable, where Maria bore Jesus. Christians believe- Jesus wasn’t ordinary baby, but Son of God, who came on the world, arrive to help people.

Is a lot of parables about His birth. For example; shepherd, which minded herd of sheep, saw angels. Angels said: near birthed somebody, who will redeem humanity and they will nod Him. Next: 3 sages from East saw very bright star and they followed the star. It stopped under Bethlehem stable. In this stable kings folded as a gift: gift of gold, myrrh, incense. Everybody started believing to star indicate birth of exceptional person.

Christmas custom is combination of Christian and pre-christian custom. European people try to survive fry days in winter: they ate, drank more as usual. They decorated houses mistletoe, holly and forever green small trees.

On Christmas in churches and chapels sing carols. St Francis from Assisi did (in XIII rd age) model of crib, where Jesus birth. For this time now people do crips for churches.Christmas cribs with figures of Jesus, Maria, Joseph, ox, donkey and shepherd and Three Kings.

Christmas cribs

A 1582 published version of the Latin carol Personent hodie.

Father Christmas is characteristic patron of child. He was bishop and he lived in IV th age. English and Americans child call him Santa Claus or father Christmas, French- Père Noël. In a lot of countries of Europe his holiday is on 6 th December and it is chand to give presents.

The fist Christmas postcard published in England in Capition adrocated : “ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”

Decorate of Christmas tree come from Germany. Prince Albert( Victory’s queen husband) import it to England.

Incense is aromatic resin. People burn it for a long time during religious ceremony. Myrrh is resin applied to embalm dead body.