Carols were sung at home, at church, or to other families as entertainment. One of the most important parts of Christmas was the extravagant Christmas dinner that consisted of two parts. Part one would include some kind of poultry (goose, chicken, or a joint of roast beef) accompanied by potatoes or applesauce. The second part of dinner consisted of the delicious Christmas pudding. It was made out of beef, prunes, and raisins.
In England the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauces. For dessert it is rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. Mince pies, pastry cases filled with a mixture of chopped dried fruit. In England also they elect Boy Bishops in commemoration of St. Nicholas compassion for children. These mock bishops were allowed to do the duties of the ecclesiastic except deliver the Mass.
In certain parts of Germany, Advent begins on the 11th November, on Saint Martin's Day. Depending on the country, various saints (Saint Martin, Saint Catherine, Saint Eligius, Saint Barbe, Saint Nicholas or Saint Lucia) are honoured in a meaningful way during this period. These celebrations sometimes become more important than Christmas itself. • The Advent Crown The Advent Crown, made of woven fir branches and four candles, representing the four seasons of the year, appeared quite late in the Protestant regions of Germany. It reached Scandinavia before spreading to various other countries.
The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the 4th century, and in Alexandria only in the following century. (wikipedia) The popularity of Christmas grew until the religious Reformation of the 1500s, but also the Reformation got Christmas forbidden for a time in some regions of the world. In American, it was not until 19th century that Christmas was revived, with the warm-hearted story in Washington Irving’s books. Many popular customs of Christmas developed independently, and changed and created over time so that there are so many
Once the parties settle down, families eat an enormous meal. The meal typically consists of roast lamp, pig suckling, or duck, and heavy amounts of seafood. After the Christmas Eve dinner, the bells toll as a reminder to attend the evening mass called la Misa del Gallo. The Rooster Mass is given its name because the rooster was the first to announce the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas day is simply continues where the day before left off.
Broadly defined, carols express religious joy and are often associated to the Christmas season. Carols are also used to describe late medieval English songs on various subjects with a verse and refrain. It is unclear when the first carol was written but it is believed that circa 1350 to 1550 is the golden age of English carols. During the 14th century carols became a popular religious song form. The theme often revolved around a saint, the Christ child or the Virgin Mary, at times blending two languages such as English and Latin.
BE A BLESSING Celebration of Christmas day roots itself to the birth of Jesus as the long-awaited Saviour who has the power to save and redeem man from sin. Over centuries, people from every race, ethnicity and culture, banks on the fact that the certainty of the coming of Jesus was real and valid. As a tradition, people are commemorating his birth every year through fellowshipping with feasts, food, and masses, especially those who are religiously under the believing faith of Christianism. Thus proves, that respect and norms of conformity of one culture from the past has of great influence up to people in the future, though there are some shifts influenced by modern culture over time. In Filipino culture, we are known for having the longest Christmas season.
Finally, Christmas is a good time that family can get together to do activities together such as decorate their house with their hands and have a celebration party to have fun and make the relationship better. Moreover, Christmas has it own history even we don’t know that Santa Claus is really exist
Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter? ), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years and it tells us that celebration during the winter season were common, way before the Christ child was born and celebrated as Christmas on 25th December. In the Western world, the birth of Jesus Christ has been celebrated as Christmas since 354 AD, replacing an earlier date of 6th January. The main reason behind Christmas celebration was to replace the Pagan festival with the Christian one, which coincided with the pagan rituals of Winter Solstice or "Return of the Sun". The stories related to Christmas are based chiefly on the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament. According to Luke, an angel appeared to shepherds outside the town of Bethlehem and told them of Jesus's birth.