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| Christmas Gift Ideas
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Christmas is the most widely celebrated festival
world over, and also the most popular festival globally. Christmas is a
celebration of love and mirth symbolized by the Nativity, the Santa, the
caribou, the poinsettia and the evergreens. All that bring home the spirit of
love and life. And this is the spirit that makes Christmas so popular
throughout the world.
According to the history of Christmas, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born
to his mother Mary, in a humble manger in the small town of Bethlehem in modern
day Israel. A shining star appeared in the sky over Bethlehem and guided Three
Wise Men to the small manger where the Christ Child lay. The Three Kings
brought gifts of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh for the Baby Jesus, because they
recognized this child was going to be the savior or Messiah of his chosen
people.
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With the birth of the infant Jesus the History of Christmas
began and has grown into a worldwide celebration of love, sharing and universal
joy and brotherhood. Share the celebration of the history of Christmas with
Christmas Carnivals.
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas
traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12
days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts,
carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to
house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to
the early Mesopotamians.
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Many of these traditions began with the
Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods,
and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed
that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his
struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk,
the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.
The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his
faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end
of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side. To spare their
king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen
and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a
real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the
royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.
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The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival
called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places,
the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey. Early
Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter
Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people
feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to
welcome back the sun.
In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear for many days.
After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to the mountain tops to look for
the return of the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would return
with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a
special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great
bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas
people would tie apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring
and summer would return.
The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea
festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his
Titans.
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