There are many symbols attached to this holiday in Europe, and each country has kept its own identity and traditions, while enriching them with influences form various other sources. This diversity and richness prove the importance given by Europeans to the Christmas holiday. Advent, its crown and its calendar... Advent corresponds to the four-week period that precedes "the arrival"(adventus in Latin) of baby Jesus, that is Christmas. In certain parts of Germany, Advent begins on the 11th November, on Saint Martin's Day.
Halloween is a holiday that most of Europe and North America celebrates to this day. It's original origins can be traced back to Roman times. Even though the etymology of the word, Halloween, is Christian, it is generally thought of to have pagan roots. Halloween is influenced heavily by the Celtic holiday Samhain, meaning “the end of summer”. In both Ireland and Scotland it was a belief that this physical world and the supernatural world were closest during this time, so magical things can happen.
Squanto Report Squanto is a Native American who lived in the early seventeenth century in what is now the Northeast United States. When the English came to this area of America to settle, they became very fond of Squanto and used him as a translator due to his unique knowledge of the English language acquired through an earlier voyage to Europe. Squanto helped the Pilgrims adapt to their new surroundings by providing them with the knowledge. Thanksgiving The First Thanksgiving When the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock almost four centuries ago, settlers laid the foundations for a republic. Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday celebrated every year always on the fourth Thursday in November.
Traditionally associated with Christmas, red and green offer an array of options to embellish our homes for the holiday season. Actually, their use as Christmas colors dates back to paganism and early Christianity. Symbolizing respectively life, nature, revival, and eternity on the one hand, and on the other – birth and death, as well as Christ’s sacrifice, green and red are definitely universally accepted Christmas colors. As trends come and go, sometimes even retro orange, pink, and purple are used to add a fresh, unique look to Christmas décor. However, usually complemented by white and gold/yellow and sometimes blue, with some creativity and imagination, with red and green we all can go far beyond mundane seasonal décor and add some
Christmas means, to most people today, a chance to eat, party and give gifts. The word Christmas comes from the Old English phrase ‘Cristes Maesse’ which means the mass of Christ. The most popular explanation for Christmas is that it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The first record of the celebration was in Rome in AD360 but it wasn’t until AD440 that the Christian Church made the date of the celebration the 25th of December. However some other people believe that Christmas is not a celebration of Christ as even though Historians doe believe he was born on the 25th they are unsure of which month and it is likely it is a summer month.
During Halloween and Christmas people tend to get dressed up for the occasion. At Halloween they use costumes of ghosts, witches or any other character that is famous at the moment, such as the Smurfs or M&M’s. On Christmas you do not get to see scary figures around the streets, instead elves, Santa’s, snowmen and reindeers are much more common outfits to be seen on the streets or at large public events for pure entertainment. As it is a habit to decorate according to the theme of a celebration, Halloween and Christmas also have their own signature decorations. It is very easy for one to see when the Halloween season arrives, on the number of pumpkins that supermarkets have for sale, spider webs, skeletons, scary carved pumpkins, ghostly figures, bats and black cats are all part of the spooky decorations that go along with the Halloween theme.
By A.D. 43 they succeeded in claiming the majority of the Celtic lands (“Halloween”). The ruled for approximately four hundred years. Combining or influencing many Celtic traditional celebrations with their own. Two of the Roman festivals, Feralia and Pomona were merged with Samhain. Both were held at the end of October.
3. Farewell ceremony for the Kitchen Gods (Ong Tao) Seven days (the 23rd night of the last lunar month) prior to Tet, each Vietnamese family offers a farewell ceremony for Ong Tao to go up to Heaven Palace. His task is to make an annual report to the Jade Emperor of the family’s affairs throughout the year. 4. New Year’s Eve However, in a literal translation, it means “Passage from the Old to the New Year”.
Every year, on February 14, we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Candy, cards, roses, and teddy bears are given out all for a guy names St. Valentine. Who was the saint and why do we care and spend so much time and money on this day? The history of Valentine’s Day is kind of a mystery. The Catholic Church has at least three saints named Saint Valentine, but all were martyred.
He goes on to say that the “earliest reference to Christmas being marked as December 25th comes from the 2nd century after Jesus’ birth”. He states that the “first Christmas