Topic: Christmas Questions And Answers, Part 2 Of 2

WHY DOES EVERYONE GIVE EACH OTHER PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY?

The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus story (described below) combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition.

IS DECEMBER 25TH REALLY THE DAY JESUS WAS BORN?

No one really knows. What is known is that Christian leaders in A.D. 336 set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) celebrating the winter solstice. Originally, the celebration of Christmas involved a simple mass, but over time Christmas has replaced a number of other holidays in many other countries, and a large number of traditions have been absorbed into the celebration in the process (as we will see in sections below).

WHY IS THERE A SMALL EVERGREEN TREE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

This is a German tradition, started as early as A.D. 700. In the 1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

WHY HAVE YOU DECORATED THIS EVERGREEN WITH ORNAMENTS, LIGHTS, FAKE SNOW AND MYLAR PLASTIC TINSEL?

In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880 Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel.. Who knows? It's probably related to the song "White Christmas."

Title: How Christmas Works - The Complete Guide To Christmas Traditions!
Data Source: Http://www.howstuffworks.com/christmas.htm

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