Welcome Christmas
 |
Christmas is the most mysterious holiday! Christians celebrate it all over
the world. It is too special holiday as all the traditions were handled
down from our grandparents and parents.
From November nobody forgets that
Christmas is coming. Colored lights decorate many town centers and shops
and artificial snow painted on shop, cafe windows. In streets and shops,
'Christmas trees', real or plastic evergreen 'conifer' trees, are also decorated
with lights and Christmas ornaments.
Shopping centers become busier. Speaker systems in them play Christmas 'carols',
the traditional Christmas Christian songs. Very often groups of people sing
these carols raising money for charity. By mid-December, most people decorate
their houses with Christmas trees, colored lights, make different decorations
around the rooms. Some people decorate their trees with apples, nuts, and candles
as it was in earlier times.
In many countries, most people send Christmas greeting cards with many wishes
to their friends and family, and these cards are hung on the walls of their
homes then. Traditional Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph
and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today pictures are often
winter pictures, jokes, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past
times.
'Father Christmas' (or 'Santa Claus') has become the human face of Christmas.
In the pictures we can see the old man with long white beard, red coat, and
bag of toys. Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before
Christmas (or in some countries on December 6th - St. Nicholas' Day), and many
children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true. The history of
Santa Clause begins with a man called Saint Nicholas. He was a Bishop of Myra
in Asia Minor (now Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted
to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. One day he climbed
the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed
in the stocking, which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain
the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in
children's stockings.
For many people it's too interesting to know: how did Christmas start?
Since about 400 AD Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. 'Christ'
means 'Messiah', the title given to Jesus. Unfortunately the real meaning of
Christmas is often forgotten. It has become a non-religious holiday! More children
believe in Father Christmas, not in Jesus. Christmas Day is a holiday with
eating, drinking too much and watching TV and other activities. But the real
Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible.
After Jesus was born there
were some wise men who came to look for Him, from an area which is now in either
Iran or Saudi Arabia. Admittedly there were three wise men (or three Kings).
The story said they had seen an unusual star in the sky that told them of a
birth of a special king. For bringing honor to the child, the brought rich
gifts: gold, frankincense (a resin which burns with a beautiful smell) and
myrrh (plant oil with a very strong sweet smell).
These gifts tell us three key things about Jesus: Gold - a gift fit for a King, Frankincense - burnt in worship of God, Myrrh - a sign of mortal humanness, used to bury the dead. Jesus lived too difficult life. He was and is 'everyman' for us all as He came to identify with every racial group. Christmas cards from different countries often show Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the landscape of that country, and with the racial appearance of that nationality.
"No other person has had such an effect on human lives as Jesus. He came back to life again, and millions say they know Him today as a friend and helper in their lives. You owe it to yourself to find out more about Him. Is He who He claimed to be?
Can He help us in our lives today? You have nothing to lose! Christmas is
the time to stop and think about these important questions".
Merry Christmas!!!
Alina Popova is an experienced translator, author and marketing specialist.
Visit TRY-2-FIND.COM discount store, if you are looking for Christmas gifts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alina_Popova
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