Christmas is a tradition celebrated all around the world and is both a religious holiday and a commercial phenomenon. For over 2,000 years Christmas has been celebrated by different religions including Christians, Catholics, and Buddhists, but everyone celebrates it differently. While Christianity technically celebrates Christmas two days (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), Catholics have a 12 day holiday, but Buddhists celebrate it a little differently. Buddhism doesn’t believe in a particular god or creator, but they believe in achieving enlightenment and reaching a state of inner peace and wisdom. They do believe that Jesus Christ was a blessing to the Earth that lived in past lifetimes.
The actual celebration of Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ began in the 4th century. Although the Bible does not mention a specific date for Jesus‘ birth, early Christians chose December 25 to celebrate His birth. Christmas supposedly started in the Catholic Church in Rome, Italy. In the centuries following its establishment, Christmas was primarily a religious feast. During the Middle Ages, Christmas became associated with feasts, church services, and nativity plays. The holiday gradually blended with various folk traditions, including those from pre-Christian winter solstice celebrations, and began to take on more festive, secular elements.
The character of Santa Claus is rooted in Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century in Myra, a city in modern-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas was known to be a generous and miracle-working saint. He was most famous for secretly giving presents to poor children and those in need. One of the most famous stories involves him providing dowries for three poor sisters, saving them from a life of servitude.
In most English speaking countries, turkey and ham is the main dish for this holiday. In places like Europe and the UK, the main dish is roast beef and roast lamb that can be with, or instead of turkey. In Italy, they have a seven course meal that consists of seven dishes of different fishes. Each course has to be different and from the ocean or it doesn’t follow the tradition.
Christmas is celebrated in many different ways across the world, although each culture adds its own unique traditions. However, there are some core elements that really bind together, such as family reunions, gift-giving, and eating your country’s festive, traditional food.
