Merry Christmas

to

everybody

Christmas is perhaps the only festival that is celebrated with an equal amount of joy and happiness all across the world. The entire Christian community and even some non-Christians wait for the 25th December every year to regale in fun and festivity. Christmas primarily celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the father of the Christian religion. The word Christmas comes from the Old English word - Cristes Maesse or Christ's Mass. However, the celebrations and customs related to the day have evolved over the years.

History

Christmas Day Places like Rome, Europe, Scandinavia and many others have celebrated the peak winter days with a grand feast and a lot of gaiety even before the birth of Christ. It was regarded as the perfect time for the celebrations as the period had a good supply of meat and wine, musts for the feast. The winter celebrations revolved around the hope of the coming spring, after the long harsh winters.

While Christianity was still in its infancy, Easter used to be the main holiday for the Christian community in most parts of the world. It was only in the fourth century, that the churches decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus and observe the same as a holiday. Surprisingly enough, the bible has no mention of the actual birth date of Jesus Christ. According to some evidences in the bible, Jesus is supposed to have been born in spring, though this fact remains dogged with controversies.

Celebrations Christmas time is regarded as the ideal time to get away from the crazy hustle bustle and share some good times with family and friends. The present day Christmas celebration is the result of the conscious or unconscious imitation of the customary celebration of the day in America.Attending the Church for prayers and later having a feast time is the most necessary part of the Christmas celebration. The celebration of Christmas also

includes a number of aspects that involve different kinds of decoration as well as ritual parts. The bit of greenery with a Christian background, the holly shrub and its red berries, common shrub for decorating wreaths, the presenting of gifts and cards, singing of Carols in every house of the locality, are all some of the important part of Christmas celebration.The significance of Santa Clause is also notable in the Christmas celebration.

The year 1841was significant year in the Christmas celebration in England. Prince Albert, the German husband of British Queen Victoria, brought the first Christmas tree in England to the royal castle of Windsor. And just a year later, America too was to discover the Christmas tree..

May All Your Dreams Come True,at Christmas and All Throughthe New YearMay a gently falling snownestle againstthe windows ofyour dreamson Christmas eve,and may yoursilent nightbe warmedby the thought thatyour family is sucha wonderful gift,and one of thenicest things inthis worldis yourpresence in it. -Poem by D. Pagels

Hope your holiday is great and you New Yew a prosperous one!

Hope you holidays are filled with all you favourte thing this Christmas…and all the happiness you could wish for!

In our hearts we will always be near Merry Christmas

That’S all!

高一（ 1 ）班 张莉莉 孙丽君 姚春花 陶俊