The meaning is nothing, I will explain it below. If you still have any questions, you can ask
Christmas
The name "Christmas" is "Christ's Mass" abbreviation. The Mass is a liturgy of the Church. Christmas is a religious festival. We celebrate it as the birthday of Jesus, so it is also called Jesus Day. On this day, all Christian churches in the world hold special worship services. But there are many Christmas celebrations that have nothing to do with religion. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards make Christmas a day of universal celebration.
Christmas is the biggest holiday in the Christian world. At the beginning of the 4th century, January 6 was a double festival commemorating the birth and baptism of Jesus in various churches in the eastern Roman Empire. It was called "Epiphany", also known as "Epiphany", in which God revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At that time, the only exception was the church in Jerusalem, which only commemorated the birth of Jesus but not the baptism of Jesus. Later, historians found in the calendar commonly used by Roman Christians that there was a record on the page of December 25, 354 AD: "Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah." After research, it is generally believed that December 25 may be the beginning of Christmas. The Roman Church in 336 AD) spread to Antioch in Asia Minor in about 375 AD, and to Alexandria in Egypt in 430 AD. The church in Jerusalem was the last to accept it, while the Armenian church still insisted on it. Epiphany, January 6, is the birthday of Jesus.
December 25 turns out to be the birthday of Mithra, the Persian sun god (god of light). It is a pagan festival. At the same time, the sun god is also one of the gods of the Roman state religion. This day is also the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. Pagans who worship the sun god regard this day as the hope of spring and the beginning of the recovery of all things. Probably for this reason, the Roman Church chose this day as Christmas. This was one of the early efforts of the church to Christianize pagan customs and habits. Later, although most churches accepted December 25 as Christmas, due to the different almanacs used by churches, the specific dates could not be unified, so December 24 to January 6 of the following year was designated as Christmas. Christmas Tide, churches in various places can celebrate Christmas during this period according to local specific conditions. Since December 25th has been recognized as Christmas by most churches, Epiphany on January 6th originally only commemorated the baptism of Jesus. However, the Catholic Church designated January 6th as the "Feast of the Three Kings" to commemorate The story of the three kings of the East (i.e. the three wise men) who came to worship Jesus when he was alive. With the widespread spread of Christianity, Christmas has become an important holiday for Christians of all denominations and even for the majority of non-Christians. In many countries in Europe and the United States, people attach great importance to this festival and connect it with the New Year. The excitement and grandness of the celebrations greatly exceed that of the New Year, and it has become a national festival. The main commemorative activities on December 25 are related to the legend of the birth of Jesus.
There is a story about the birth of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. God even sent the messenger Gabriel to tell Joseph in a dream, telling him not to reject Mary because she was pregnant out of wedlock, but to marry her and name the child "Jesus", which meant that he would save the people from their sins. rescued.
When Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government issued an order that all people must declare their household registration when they went to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary had no choice but to obey. When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was already dark. Unfortunately, the two of them could not find a hotel to spend the night. There was only a stable for temporary accommodation. At this moment, Jesus is going to be born! So Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger. In order to commemorate the birth of Jesus, later generations designated December 25th as Christmas, and celebrated mass every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus.
Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25th, but no one knows the real birth date. In the 19th century, with the popularity of Christmas cards and the appearance of Santa Claus, Christmas also became popular.
December 25 is the day when Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus, called Christmas.
The Christmas holiday starts from December 24th to January 6th of the following year. During the festival, Christians from all over the world hold grand commemorative ceremonies. Christmas was originally a Christian holiday. Because people paid special attention to it, it became a national holiday. It is the grandest holiday of the year in Western countries. It can be compared with the New Year and is similar to the Spring Festival in our country.
Westerners use red, green and white as Christmas colors. When Christmas comes, every household must be decorated with Christmas colors. The red ones have Christmas flowers and Christmas candles. The green one is the Christmas tree. It is the main decoration of Christmas and is decorated with tower-shaped evergreen trees such as felled fir and cypress. Colorful lights, gifts and paper flowers are hung above, and Christmas candles are lit. The red and white contrast is Santa Claus, who is the most popular figure in Christmas activities. Before going to bed on Christmas Eve, Western children put a sock in front of the fireplace or next to the pillow, and wait for Santa Claus to put gifts in the sock after they fall asleep. In the West, playing Santa Claus is also a custom.
The origin of Christmas
The origin of Christmas There is no evidence as to when Jesus’ birthday is. Why is December 25th designated as Christmas? This was prescribed by the church in the mid-5th century. In 354 AD, the "Philokalian" calendar first stated that December 25 was the birthday of Jesus. By the 5th century, the West generally accepted this date as Christmas. It is said that the Christmas tree first appeared in ancient Rome during the Saturnalia in mid-December. The German missionary Nicholas used a vertical tree to worship the Holy Child in the 8th century AD. Later, the Germans regarded December 24 as the festival of Adam and Eve. They placed a "Paradise Tree" symbolizing the Garden of Eden in their homes, hung cookies representing holy bread, symbolizing atonement, and lit candles to symbolize Christ. By the 16th century, the religious reformer Martin Luther, in order to have a starry Christmas night, designed a Christmas tree with candles in his home. However, there is another popular theory about the origin of the Christmas tree in the West: There was a kind-hearted farmer who warmly entertained a wandering child on Christmas Day. When parting, the child broke off a branch and stuck it in the ground. The branch immediately grew into a tree. Big tree, the child pointed to the tree and said to the farmer, "Every year on this day, the tree is full of gifts to repay your kindness." Therefore, the Christmas trees that people see today are always full of small gifts. Designed by Horsley. The card depicts a noble family, with three generations toasting together to congratulate an absent relative or friend. At that time, he printed 1,000 sheets, and the printer sold the remaining ones at 1 shilling each. And so the Christmas card was born.
Christmas Songs
For a long time, there are three main Christmas songs that have been popular, one is "Silent Night"; the other is "Listen, the Angel Announces Good News"; the third is " "Jingle Bells".
Santa Claus
Santa Claus originally referred to Nicholas, the bishop of Asia Minor in the 4th century AD. He was famous for his amiable and generous help to the poor. By the 6th century, the East revered him as Saint Nicholas. Since folk legends about Nicholas are associated with children and gifts, Santa Claus has since become the image of a kind old man who specializes in delivering gifts to children at Christmas. By the 18th century, through literature and painting, Santa Claus gradually became the image of an old man with a white beard and white eyebrows wearing a red coat.
Christmas Card
The world’s first Christmas card was proposed by the British Sir Henry Gaulle in 1843 and was given as a Christmas gift by John Calgary. According to the Bible, a saint from the East Giving gifts when Jesus was born, this is the origin of the custom of Santa Claus giving gifts to children. British children place stockings by the fireplace on Christmas Eve, believing that Santa Claus will come down the chimney at night and bring them socks full of gifts. French children put their shoes at the door so that when the Christ Child comes, he will put gifts inside them.
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Christmas dinner
Just like the Chinese people eat New Year’s dinner during the Spring Festival, European and American people also pay attention to the whole family sitting under the Christmas tree and having a festive meal during Christmas. The custom of eating turkey for Christmas dinner began in the United States in 1620. The British people’s Christmas dinner is roast goose instead of turkey. Austrians like to have family and friends together on Christmas Eve. Groups of people go to restaurants to have a Christmas dinner, which includes turkey, bacon, roasted beef and pork legs, accompanied by famous wines, and everyone enjoys it.