CHRISTMAS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

BACKGROUND STORY

AN ANGEL VISITS MARY-About 2,000 years ago an angel Gabriel visited Mary a Jewish woman.

-Gabriel told Mary she would have a son, Jesus, who would be the Son of God!

-She had faith in God and said, "I am the Lord's servant. Let it be as you say.”

NO PLACE AT THE INN

When Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay because the inn was already full. They ended up spending the night in a stable, a place where animals were kept.

JESUS WAS BORN 25th DecemberJesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, to a virgin mother.

WISE MEN VISIT JESUS

Wise men from the East came to worship Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

CURRENT FOLKLORE

SANTA USED TO WEAR GREEN

Urban myth has it that the red suit only appeared after the Coca Cola company started an advertising campaign depicting a red suited Father Christmas in the 1930s.

However, the red suit was used long before, including by American illustrator Thomas Nast.

It's likely he represented the coming of spring and wore a long green hooded cloak and a wreath of holly, ivy or mistletoe and had the ability to make people happier during the long winter months.

Father Christmas…Santa Claus... Kris Kringle...Old Saint Nick...

Father Christmas often appears as a large man, often around seventy years old. He is dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur, often girdled with a wide black belt, a matching hat, often long and floppy in nature, and dark boots. Often he carries a large brown sack filled with toys on his back.

Lives in the North Pole.

ADVENT CALENDER

A calender with either a picture or piece of chocolate inside 24 miniature doors leading up to Christmas day.

One to be opened each day of December.

OLD ADVENT CALENDERPicture about Christmas everyday with a picture of

Jesus on the 24th day.

CURRENT ADVENT CALENDER Contains chocolate in each window

which counts down the days till Christmas (25th December).

CHOLOLATES WITH CHRISTMAS THEME SHAPES BEHIND EACH DOOR.

BRIEF

Offerings to Santa and

his reindeer

It is traditional for children to leave a letter for Santa along with a glass of milk, a mince pie and a carrot for his reindeer.

Christmas offerings to Santa24th December – Christmas Eve

SANTA EATS MINCE PIE

SANTA DRINKS THE MILK

SANTA READS LETTER FROM CHILD

What actually happens…?

Parents wait for their children to be fast asleep. Then they remove the offerings, leaving only traces that Santa has been.

CHRISTMAS DAYThe children wake up to find the remains

of the mince pie and see that their letter has been taken. This makes them

extra excited to open their presents.