Accra, Dec. 23, -Christmas is
celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the
Son of God.
The name 'Christmas' comes from
the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A mass service (which is sometimes called
Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and
then came back to life.
The 'Christ-Mass' service was the
only one that was allowed to take place after sunset and before sunrise the
next day, so people had it at midnight. Therefore we got the name
‘Christ-Mass’, shortened to Christmas.
Christmas is now celebrated by
people around the world whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when
family and friends come together and remember the good things they have.
People, especially children, also like Christmas as it's a time when you give
and receive gifts.
Controversy surrounding the date
for celebrating Christmas
No one knows the real birthday of
Jesus. No date is given in the Bible, so why do Christians celebrate it on the
25th December? The early Christians had many arguments as to when Christmas
should be celebrated. Some argued that the birth of Jesus did not happen in the
year one but slightly earlier, somewhere between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC,
possibly in 4 BCE/BC.
The first recorded date of
Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the
Roman Emperor Constantine (The first Christian Roman Emperor).
A few years later, Pope Julius I,
officially declared 25th December to be celebrated as the birth of Jesus.
However, there are many different
traditions and theories explaining why Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus
on December 25.
An early Christian tradition said
that the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby, Jesus
(called the Annunciation) was on March 25th - and it is still celebrated today
on the 25th March.
Nine months after the 25th March
is the 25th December
March 25th was also the day some
early Christians thought the world had been made, and also the day that Jesus
died on when he was an adult. The date of March 25th was chosen because people
had calculated that was the day on which Jesus died as an adult (the 14th of
Nisan in the Jewish calendar) and they thought that Jesus was born and had died
on the same day of the year.
Some people also think that
December 25th might have also been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the
ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis
Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date - so it was a time when
people already celebrated things.
How Christians celebrate
Christmas in different parts of the world
For instance, in Argentina, the
weather is warm at Christmas so preparations for Christmas begin very early in
December and even in November.
Many people in Argentina are
Catholics and so houses are beautifully decorated with lights and wreaths of
green, gold, red and white flowers.
Red and white garlands are hung
on the doors of houses and Christmas Trees are decorated and people like to put
cotton balls on the trees to represent snow.
Christmas Cards aren't common in
Argentina although some people give and receive gifts, it's mostly between
close family and friends. The main Christmas celebrations take place on
Christmas Eve. Many Catholics will go to a Mass in the late afternoon.
The main Christmas meal is eaten
during the evening of Christmas Eve, often about 10pm or 11pm. It might be
served in the garden or be a barbecue.
Some popular dishes include;
roasted turkey, roasted pork (in northern Argentina, some people will have
goat), stuffed tomatoes, salads and Christmas bread and puddings like 'Pan
Dulce' and Panetone.
At midnight there will be the
sound of lots of fireworks! People also like to 'toast' the start of Christmas
day. Some people like to go to midnight services, but other prefer to stay at
home and let off fireworks and then open their presents under the Christmas tree.
In Finland people believe that
Santa Claus or Father Christmas lives in the north part of Finland called
Korvatunturi (or Lapland), north of the Arctic Circle. People from all over the
world send letters to Santa Claus in Finland.
There is a big tourist theme park
called 'Christmas Land' in the north of Finland, near to where they say that
Father Christmas lives.
It means that Santa doesn't have
far to travel on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to people in Finland. If he
doesn't get a chance to deliver the presents personally, he will often leave
them under the Christmas tree.
In Finnish Happy/Merry Christmas
is 'Hyvää joulua'. Everyone tries to be at home for Christmas, including
fishermen who try to get their boats into the harbour by December 21st, St.
Thomas' Day
Animals are given their own
Christmas in Finland, with farmers sometimes hanging a sheaf of wheat on a tree
to be eaten and pecked at by the birds. Nuts and pieces of suet are also hung
on trees in bags from the branches.
Everyone cleans their houses
ready for the three holy days of Christmas - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and
Boxing Day.
On Christmas Eve, or the day
before, Christmas trees are bought from the local market or square. The seller
expects you to bargain with them on the price.
Christmas Eve is very special and
the most important day over Christmas. It's traditional to eat rice porridge
and plum fruit juice for breakfast. Then the tree is decorated. At mid-day, the
'Peace of Christmas' is broadcast on radio and TV by the City Mayor of Turku.
The main Christmas meal is eaten
in the early evening. Lutefish (salt fish) is the traditional starter, but is
not so common nowadays. The main meal is a leg of pork served with mashed
potato traditionally baked slowly in birch-bark boxes in the oven with
similarly cooked mashed swede.
Casseroles containing different
vegetables including, rutabaga, carrot and potato are also common. Cured salmon
is very popular and some people also have turkey. Desert is baked rice
pudding/porridge eaten with spiced plum jam. One almond is hidden in the pudding.
Whoever find the almond will be lucky for the next year.
Christmas Day is much quieter
with families usually spending it quietly at home. On Boxing Day people like to
go out. Skiing along the flat terrain or skating if the lake or river has
frozen
In China, only about one percent
of people are Christians, so most people only know a few things about
Christmas. In view of this, Christmas is only often celebrated in major cities.
In the big cities, there are
Christmas Trees, lights and other decorations on the streets and in department
stores. Santa Claus is called 'Shen Dan Lao Ren' and has grottos in shops like
in Europe and America. In China, Santa is known as 'Sheng dan lao ren'
(Traditional, Simplified means Old Christmas Man).
Only a few people have a
Christmas tree (or celebrate Christmas at all!). If people do have a tree it is
normally a plastic one and might be decorated with paper chains, paper flowers,
and paper lanterns (they might also call it a tree of light). The Christmas
Trees that most people would see would be in shopping malls.
The strange thing is that most of
the world's plastic Christmas Trees and Christmas decorations are made in
China, but the people making them might not know what they are for.
A tradition that's becoming popular,
on Christmas Eve, is giving apples. Many stores have apples wrapped up in
coloured paper for sale.
People give apples on Christmas
Eve because in Chinese Christmas Eve is called "Ping'an Ye", meaning
peaceful or quiet evening, which has been translated from the carol ‘Silent
Night’.
Some people go Carol singing,
although not many people understand them or know about the Christmas Story.
Jingle Bells is a popular Christmas song in China.
People who are Christians in
China go to special services. Going to Midnight Mass services has become very
popular.
GNA
No comments:
Post a Comment