CHRISTMAS

Christmas or Christmas Day is a celebrated on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. Christmas is the biggest Christian festival and one of the national festivals of India.

Today, India is home to 23 million Christians, 50% of whom live in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Christians constitute 2.3% of India’s total population and form the third most prominent religion in India after Hinduism and Islam.

Christians form a majority of the total population in the eastern states of Mizoram and Nagaland, a third of the population of Goa and a quarter of the population of the coastal state of Kerala. But the influence of Christianity can be seen and felt through the length and breadth of the country.

Celebration:

The towns and villages dress up for the yuletide spirit. Nearly a week before Christmas, the church, club and school choirs start doing the rounds of their neighbourhood and are greeted by people with cakes and other eatables. Christmas carols are sung in various local languages all over the country.

During Christmas season they hang a beautiful star-shaped paper lamp of various colours and sizes outside their homes. The star lamps are however more elaborated with some patterns or cutwork designs on them.

Folks send Christmas greetings to their friends and families in faraway places. People decorate their homes to the hilt with Christmas trees (or the various substitutes available in the markets), wreathes with bright red decorative baubles, festoons, bells, socks, Santa Claus and other small trinkets.

Shops get ready to do brisk business and offer mega discounts and sales. Markets are packed with huge crowds. People buy new clothes, gifts (exchanging gifts is an age-old Christmas practice and people choose gifts for their loved ones with great thought and affection), a variety of things to cook, Christmas decorations, amongst other things.

Date of celebration:

The December 25 date may have been selected by the church in Rome in the early fourth century. At this time, a church calendar was created and other holidays were also placed on solar dates: "It is cosmic symbolism...which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the winter solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the summer solstice as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as their respective dates of conception. While they were aware that pagans called this day the "birthday" of Sol Invictus, this did not concern them and it did not play any role in their choice of date for Christmas," according to modern scholar S.E. Hijmans.

Commemorating the birth of Jesus:

In Christianity, Christmas is the festival celebrating the Nativity of Jesus, the Christian belief that the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament&prism;s Messianic prophecies was born to the Virgin Mary. The story of Christmas is based on the biblical accounts given in the Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 1:18, and the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 1:26 and 2:40. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. According to popular tradition, the birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, though neither the stable nor the animals are specifically mentioned in the Biblical accounts. However, a manger is mentioned in Luke 2:7, where it states, "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Early iconographic representations of the nativity placed the animals and manger within a cave (located, according to tradition, under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem). Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Many Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled messianic prophecies from the Old Testament. The Gospel of Matthew also describes a visit by several Magi, or astrologers, who bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant. The visitors were said to be following a mysterious star, commonly known as the Star of Bethlehem, believing it to announce the birth of a king of the Jews. The commemoration of this visit, the Feast of Epiphany celebrated on January 6, is the formal end of the Christmas season in some churches.

Christians celebrate Christmas in many ways. In addition to this day being one of the most important and popular for the attendance of church services, there are numerous other devotions and popular traditions.

Decorations:

Over the Christmas period, people decorate their homes and exchange gifts. In some Christian denominations, children perform plays re-telling the events of the Nativity, or sing carols that reference the event. Some Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a Nativity scene or crib, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event. A long artistic tradition has grown of producing painted depictions of the nativity in art. Nativity scenes are traditionally set in a barn or stable and include Mary, Joseph, the child Jesus, angels, shepherds and the Three Wise Men: Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, who are said to have followed a star, known as the Star of Bethlehem, and arrived after his birth.

The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. From pre-Christian times, people in the Roman Empire brought branches from evergreen plants indoors in the winter. The heart-shaped leaves of ivy were said to symbolise the coming to earth of Jesus, while holly was seen as protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries held to represent the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus at the crucifixion and the blood he shed.

The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship.Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

Since the 19th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.

In the Western world, the display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels. Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting usually exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day.

Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts:

Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas, considered by many to be the original Santa Claus.

Christmas has for many centuries been a time for the giving and exchanging of gifts, particularly between friends and family members. A number of figures of both Christian and mythical origin have been associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus,

The most famous and pervasive of these figures in modern celebration worldwide is Santa Claus, a mythical gift bringer, dressed in red, whose origins have diverse sources. Santa Claus is famous around the world for giving gifts to good children. Father Christmas, a jolly, well nourished, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character.

Special Christmas Delicacies:

A special Christmas family meal is an important part of the celebration for many, and what is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions, such as Sicily, have special meals for Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In England and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey (brought from North America), potatoes, vegetables, sausages and gravy, followed by Christmas pudding, mince pies and fruit cake. In Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Germany, France and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world. Ham is the main meal in the Philippines.

Special desserts are also prepared: The Maltese traditionally serve Imbuljuta tal-Qastan, a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after Midnight Mass and throughout the Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional Christmas bread potica, bûche de Noël in France, panettone in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter Christmas delicacies include the German stollen, marzipan cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges were long associated with special Christmas foods.

During the Christmas you will get the best variety of Cookies, Ginger breads, Cakes (Christmas Fruit Cake, Chocolate cake), Puddings, Christmas Fudge, Candies and lot more.