Christmas gift, Christmas present - Buzzpages business directory of Christmas gifts in Shropshire, Wales and the Midlands
Christmas gift, Christmas present, buzzpages business directory data page - Shropshire, Wales, the Midlands, UK

Christmas Time

~the true spirit of giving at Christmas ~


Christmas gifts and why they are given.

Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The exact date of Christ's birth is not known, but most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25, and so this is the day that is generally recognised as Christmas day for the purposes of Christmas gift giving and so forth. Some go to church, where they take part in special religious services. Most exchange Christmas gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees, under which the Christmas gifts are stored. The word Christmas predictably means Mass of Christ.

The story of Christmas comes mostly from 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' birth. Matthew tells how the wise men, called Magi, followed a bright star that led them to Jesus.

The firts mention of December 25 as the birth date of Jesus occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar. The choice of this day as Jesus' birth date was probably because the ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the god of light. Various peoples in northern Europe held festivals in mid-December to celebrate the end of the harvest season. It is not coincidental that in all these celebrations, the people prepared special feasts, placed greenery around their homes and enjoyed much singing and gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration, where people now eat christmas dinner, decorate their homes with Christmas greenery such as holly and mistletoe, sing Christmas carols and give Christmas gifts.

Christmas was later celebrated by the Romans, and got more poplular until the reformation, when some Protestants began to consider Christmas pagan because it contained many pagan vestiges, such as the holly, the feasting and the giving of Christmas gifts and other CVhristmas gift traditions. christmas was even outlawed in some parts of new America, although the Christmas gift giving and feating was so popular it underwent a revival.

Gift giving

The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe. In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations.

 

A Christmas poem by Lewis Carroll


Lady, dear, if Fairies may
For a moment lay aside
Cunning tricks and elfish play,
'Tis at happy Christmas-tide.

We have heard the children say -
Gentle children, whom we love -
Long ago on Christmas Day,
Came a message from above,

Still, as Christmas-tide comes round,
They remember it again -
Echo still the joyful sound
"Peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Yet the hearts must childlike be
Where such heavenly guests abide;
Unto children, in their glee,
All the year is Christmas-tide!

Thus, forgetting tricks and play
For a moment, Lady dear,
We would wish you, if we may,
Merry Christmas, Glad New Year!

Lewis Carroll