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1 day ago · Christmas, Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. The English term Christmas (“mass on Christ’s day”) is of fairly recent origin. The earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice.
- Christmas Tree. The trees we decorate each December with glittering tinsel, bright lights and festive ornaments are typically evergreen varieties like spruce, fir, or pine—trees that retain their lush green foliage year-round.
- Star. One of the holiday’s more religious symbols, the Christmas Star represents the bright star that shone brightly over the town of Bethlehem on the night that Jesus Christ was born.
- Candles. A lit candle during Christmastime also traditionally represents the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the three kings to find the newborn baby Jesus.
- Tinsel. Derived from the Old French word étinceller (which means "to sparkle"), tinsel was traditionally used in trimming Christmas trees to enhance the flickering candlelight.
- Jennifer Ebert
- Red, gold and green. Christmas traditions don't get more traditional than this color scheme. But why do we err towards red, gold and green if we want to create a 'traditional' feel?
- Carol singing. Carols were once folk songs sung at celebrations throughout the year – and not just at Christmas. Later, in medieval times, they were adopted and adapted by church goers, and many of these carols still make up our most beloved Christmas traditions – The Holly and The Ivy is a medieval carol, for instance.
- The Christmas tree. The fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pagan and Christian) for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come.
- The Christmas wreath. Even before the birth of Christ, and Christmas as we know it Christmas wreath ideas have been used as a symbol of honor and victory.
- Tina Donvito
- Christmas symbols we all know and love. Nothing says “Christmas” like the sights, smells and sounds of the season: From Christmas cookies to eggnog and mistletoe, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without them.
- Christmas trees. Ever wonder why we put up Christmas trees? Evergreen fir trees are universal winter decorations: Pagans displayed the branches as a reminder that spring would come again.
- Wreaths. Making wreaths is a handy way to use your Christmas tree trimmings, which is probably how the custom developed in 16th-century Germany. But the symbolism of wreaths goes back to ancient Greece and Rome, when victorious athletes wore leafy branches woven into a crown.
- Mistletoe. Norse mythology creeps into Christmas traditions to explain why we kiss under the mistletoe. According to legend, the gods used mistletoe to resurrect Odin’s son, Baldur, from the dead.
The English word Christmas is a shortened form of 'Christ's Mass'. [3] The word is recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131. [4] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from the Greek Χριστός (Khrīstos, 'Christ'), a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Māšîaḥ, 'Messiah'), meaning 'anointed'; [5] [6] and mæsse is from the Latin missa, the celebration of the ...
The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship; [25] according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus, Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Thor and pointed out a ...
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Dec 21, 2023 · It literally means Christian Mass. It’s a shortened form of Christ’s Mass. Christmas is a time of spiritual reflection on the important foundations of the Christian faith. It’s also a celebration. It’s when Christians celebrate God’s love for the world through the birth of the Christ child: Jesus. The Bible tells of his birth hundreds ...
