Search results
Dec 7, 2021 · The Christmas holiday has gathered around it customs and traditions for over two millennia, some of which even pre-date the Christian festival itself. From gift-giving to the sumptuous spread of a Christmas dinner table, this article traces the history of the celebrations from Roman times to the Victorian era when our modern take on the holiday ...
- Mark Cartwright
Dec 19, 2023 · In Finland, Christmas Eve is the major occasion of the season, and the night Santa comes with his gifts. Families spend Christmas Eve together decorating the Christmas tree, drinking mulled wine, doing the quintessential Finnish things, and bathing in a Christmas sauna. It is also a custom of Finnish residents to attend a Christmas Mass.
- Why Is Christmas on The 25th of December?
- The Pagan Antecedents to Christmas
- Early Christian Dates For Christmas
- Christmas Tree
- Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus
- The Origins of Modern Christmas in Canada
- Early Christmas Among The First Nations
- The Victorian Origins of Modern Christmas
- Traditions of Christmas in Contemporary Québec
- Performances and Entertainment
Whatever the origins of the festival that is held on the 25th of December, it cannot be the celebration of the actual birth date of Jesus. That date is unknown. So while Christmas is the day on which the birth of Jesus is celebrated, the day chosen seems more related to the many festivals that mark the wintersolstice, most of which in Roman or Celt...
Solstice festivals, marking the low point of the sun, the shortest day of the year, the time from which days will lengthen and hopes for light and warmth will reappear, have been celebrated perhaps for millennia in northern climates, where winters are more severe. One of these festivals, the Roman solar feast of Natalis Invicti, celebrated on 25 De...
Some of the earliest records for the celebration of the birth of Jesus come from Alexandria, Egypt. Several scholars, dating back to Clement of Alexandria (c. 200 AD), have attempted to determine the exact date of Jesus' birth. The date has yet to be determined, but Clement notes that Epiphany and the Nativity were celebrated on 10 or 6 January, in...
The Christmas tree, along with the Nativity scene is the chief physical symbol of Christmas across Canada in homes, businesses and public spaces (see Fir). The tree is a symbol of evergreen, of life, of magical powers in deepest winter. Varieties of evergreen boughs adorned homes and temples during solstice festivals across the Roman Empire. Pagan ...
Popularly accepted as the predecessor to Santa Claus, there is scarcely anything historically certain about Saint Nicholas (died 6 December, 345 or 352). According to tradition, or legend, he was born at Parara, in what is today southern Turkey. He made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine in his youth, became Bishop then Archbishop of Myra and was ...
The Christmas that is celebrated in its various ways in contemporary Canada is very Canadian in one way - that is, it is not only the product of French, British and American traditions, but of many others as well. The time frame for the origins of this modern Christmas is fairly clear, when it is considered that Christmas was hardly celebrated at t...
The earliest mention of the celebration of Christmas by First Nations dates back to 1641. Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary who lived among the Huron of Georgian Bay from 1626, composed a Christmas carol, "Jesous Ahatonhia" or the "Huron Carol," in their language telling the story of the birth of Jesus. Father Brébeuf adapted his story, written ...
In Canada, by the 1870s, Christmas had lost much of its religious character, at least in English Canada and among the upper middle class in French Canada. The holiday became a community and family festival. Customs, such as the decorated Christmas tree, gift-giving and the Christmas réveillon(the "awakening") became part of family tradition. By the...
Christmas traditions in Québec, as elsewhere in Canada, are a blend of changing traditions brought from France, unique to the region or adapted from British and American influences. In late November and early December, Christmas markets appear throughout Québec, traditionally held in the streets but now also held indoors in halls and special places...
A large part of Québec traditions are popular activities and performances returning year after year. The most anticipated performance is certainly The Nutcracker ballet, presented by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens at Place des Arts in Montréal. Pure artistic enchantment, the performance of The Nutcracker rallies large and small, even teens. Of course...
4 days ago · Christmas, Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. December 25 has become widely accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth. Christmas has also become a secular family holiday that is observed by Christians and non-Christians, is marked by the exchange of gifts, and features the mythical figure of Santa Claus.
- 12 Days of Christmas: Many people know of the popular Christmas carol bearing the same name, but this tradition goes back to Medieval times and is often a time for remembering what took place to bring Christ to the world.
- Christmas Bells: How many recitals do we go to where kids ring the bells of Christmas? How many Christmas carols do we sing that mention bells? Where did this tradition come from, and why is it so prevalent in our celebration?
- Boxing Day: This holiday takes place on the day after Christmas and has an interesting history that follows it. This is not a holiday in the United States but is a holiday in the United Kingdom and countries that have ties to the UK, such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and other European Countries.
- Christmas Candles: Candles are a part of many Christmas celebrations. Many churches have candlelight services that are held on Christmas Eve that commemorate the night Jesus's parents were looking for a place to stay.
Dec 10, 2018 · Réveillon and La Fête du Roi (Quebec) – Réveillon or midnight meal is a huge feast that lasts until the early hours of Christmas morning. The traditional meal used to consist of a stew made from pigs’ feet (Ragoût aux pattes de cochons). Nowadays, families feast on Tortiere, a meat pie, among other holiday goodies.
People also ask
What are Canada's Christmas traditions?
What are Your Favorite Christmas traditions?
Is Christmas a religious holiday?
What is a traditional Christmas meal?
What are some common Christmas customs?
What are some Christmas traditions in the UK?
Oct 27, 2009 · DNY59/Getty Images. Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world ...
