Celebrating Christmas: The Birth Of Jesus Christ
Christmas is a Christian holiday that has its roots in pagan festivals. As the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, many people will find the theme of Christian correlates to the Bible story found in the New Testament book of Luke chapter 2. Though not everyone who is a Christian celebrates Christmas, it is a Christian holiday none-the-less. The very name Christmas means Christ-mas.
Because Christmas is based on pagan traditions, many of the objects associated with the holiday have ancient meanings. Those meanings were transformed by the Church in order to give those holidays to the Christian God.
Because Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus (even though historical insights determine that Jesus couldn’t have been born on December 25) the Nativity scene is a common Christmas theme.
Other popular themes that are seen throughout Christmas include a mixture of pagan traditions and the Bible story.
In addition to Nativity scenes, angels, candles, Christmas trees, mistletoe, advent calendars, Bethlehem, donkeys, elf (elves), gingerbread, Christmas carols, holly, wreaths, yuletide, chestnuts, plum pudding, wintertime, Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, lights, bells, pine trees, bows, garlands, chimneys, candy canes, fruitcake, Nutcracker (ballet) and nutcrackers, partridges, yule logs, wise men, turkey, icicles, decorations, ornaments, Saint Nick, snowmen, Santa’s helpers, Santa’s list, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, pies, Christmas villages, poinsettias, Christmas packages and presents, gold, frankincense and myrrh (Gifts of the Magi), are some of the most popular themes that are used to celebrate Christmas.
The exchange of Christmas gifts is practiced to show love for the people whom you cherish and honor. Christmas is a time where people are to open their hearts and be kinder, more forgiving, and more loving to their fellow man.
It is a time when holiday cheer should be expressed by acts of charity and goodwill.
The Christian belief is that Jesus Christ came to show the world the true meaning of love, therefore, it is up to the world to embody that love and give it to others freely.
Christmas sales typically focus on slashing prices on a wide array of items that will be gifted during the holiday season.
Black Friday (held the Friday following Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (held the Monday following Thanksgiving) are a good way to save on Christmas deals.
Amazon typically runs Christmas sales where you can find the best deals throughout the entire month of December. Following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon does a countdown promotion often called 12 days of Deals where they run new deals until Christmas day.