Christmas is the most important festival in western Christian countries. It is also called Christmas. You can tell by its name that it is a festival to commemorate the birth of Jesus.
In fact, the date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Bible, and Christmas is announced by later generations. In the calendar used by Roman Christians, it was found that the page on December 25, 354 AD recorded: "Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judah." So people gradually believe that December 25th is Jesus' birthday.
It is said that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was pregnant because of the Holy Spirit. In a dream, God sent an angel to tell Yue Se to marry Mary, who was pregnant without marriage, and named the child "Jesus", which meant to save the people from their sins. It is similar to the birth of Emperor China, one expressing the divine right of monarchy and the other expressing the salvation of all beings.
When the Virgin Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government ordered all the people to declare their household registration in Bethlehem. When Yue Se and Maria arrived in Bethlehem, it was getting late, and they couldn't find a hotel to stay. Only a stable was available. That night, Maria gave birth to the son Jesus in the stable. In order to commemorate the birth of Jesus, later generations designated December 25th as Christmas, and observed mass every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus.
Since December 25th was recognized as Christmas, it has become an important festival for Christians of all denominations and even non-Christians. Christmas cards, Santa Claus, Christmas socks, Christmas hats, Christmas trees and so on gradually appeared in the public's field of vision, and later gradually commercialized and politicized, becoming a global comprehensive festival, which is a major festival integrating commerce, entertainment and religion. Christmas custom
1. Christmas custom 1: Dressing up the Christmas tree
The custom of Christmas tree comes from Germany, which is cut down by some evergreen trees, often using fir trees, pine trees and other trees with tower branches and leaves. Generally, the trees are decorated with gold and silver strips, crutches, apples and small gifts. Apples symbolize the rich products of the Garden of Eden, and gifts symbolize the gift of the Oriental doctors to Jesus. The walking stick on the Christmas tree is a shepherd's walking stick, and the inverted walking stick is similar to the initials of Jesus, which also symbolizes Jesus. The silver ribbon on the Christmas tree symbolizes holiness, and the gold ribbon symbolizes glory. The bow symbolizes that this person is closely connected with God, and God loves the world forever. 2. Christmas custom 2: exchange Christmas cards
Christmas letters, just as China people send lovesickness by letter, foreigners also send Christmas cards on Christmas day to show their thoughts for relatives and friends far away. Christmas cards are generally printed with pictures during Christmas, such as snow scenes, snowmen, Santa Claus and reindeer. There are also some greeting cards printed with Christian elements, such as the scene of the birth of Jesus. 3. Christmas custom 3: Giving gifts to relatives and friends
This tradition comes from the fact that when Jesus was born, three Oriental doctors sent gifts to him. Therefore, every Christmas, friends and relatives will give gifts to each other. The legend of Santa Claus giving gifts also comes from this story. Legend has it that on December 24th every year, Santa Claus drives a sleigh pulled by reindeer to give gifts to families.
This is what I know about the origin of Christmas. What other stories do you know?