About Christmas and Thanksgiving?

The Origin of Christmas

The name "Christmas" is the abbreviation of "Christ's Mass". The Mass is a liturgy of the Church. Christmas is a religious holiday. We celebrate it as the birthday of Jesus, so it is also called Christmas. On this day, all Christian churches in the world hold special worship services. But there are many Christmas celebrations that have nothing to do with religion. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards make Christmas a day of universal celebration.

Christmas is the biggest holiday in the Christian world. At the beginning of the 4th century, January 6 was a double festival commemorating the birth and baptism of Jesus in various churches in the eastern Roman Empire. It was called "Epiphany", also known as "Epiphany", that is, God revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At that time, the only exception was the church in Laleng, which only commemorated the birth of Jesus but not the baptism of Jesus. Later, historians found in the calendar commonly used by Roman Christians that there was a record on the page of December 25, 354 AD: "Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah." After research, it is generally believed that December 25 may be the beginning of Christmas. The Roman Church in 336 AD) spread to Antioch in Asia Minor in about 375 AD, and to Alexandria in Egypt in 430 AD. The church in Jerusalem was the last to accept it, while the Armenian church still insisted on it. Epiphany, January 6, is the birthday of Jesus. December 25th turns out to be the birthday of Mithra, the Persian sun god (god of light), and is a pagan festival. At the same time, the sun god is also one of the gods of the Roman state religion. This day is also the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. Pagans who worship the sun god regard this day as the hope of spring and the beginning of the recovery of all things. Perhaps for this reason, the Roman Church chose this day as Christmas. This was one of the early efforts of the church to Christianize pagan customs and habits. Later, although most churches accepted December 25 as Christmas, due to the different almanacs used by churches, the specific dates could not be unified, so December 24 to January 6 of the following year was designated as Christmas. During the Christmas Tide, churches in various places can celebrate Christmas during this period according to local specific conditions. Since December 25th has been recognized as Christmas by most churches, Epiphany on January 6th originally only commemorated the baptism of Jesus. However, the Catholic Church designated January 6th as the "Feast of the Three Kings" to commemorate The story of the three kings of the East (i.e. the three wise men) who came to worship Jesus when he was alive. With the widespread spread of Christianity, Christmas has become an important holiday for Christians of all denominations and even for the majority of non-Christians. In many countries in Europe and the United States, people attach great importance to this festival and connect it with the New Year. The excitement and grandness of the celebrations greatly exceed that of the New Year, and it has become a national festival. The main commemorative activities on December 25 are related to the legend of the birth of Jesus.

There is a story about the birth of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. God even sent the messenger Gabriel to tell Joseph in a dream, telling him not to reject Mary because she was pregnant out of wedlock, but to marry her and name the child "Jesus", which meant that he would turn the people away from their sins. rescued.

When Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government issued an order that all people must declare their household registration when they went to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary had no choice but to obey. When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was already dark. Unfortunately, they could not find a hotel to stay, and there was only a stable for temporary accommodation. At this moment, Jesus is going to be born! So Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger. In order to commemorate the birth of Jesus, later generations designated December 25th as Christmas, and celebrated mass every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25th, but no one knows the real birth date. In the 19th century, with the popularity of Christmas cards and the appearance of Santa Claus, Christmas also became popular. Customs about Christmas

It is only in recent years that Chinese people have been exposed to Christmas. The atmosphere is different across the country. For example, some coastal areas have a more festive atmosphere, such as those in the southernmost areas. In Shenzhen and Guangzhou, because they are close to Hong Kong and are open cities, the younger generation has regarded Christmas as a day of universal celebration, although they have different religious beliefs. Now let us all take a look at some of the regular programs of Christmas. On December 25th, each church will hold worship services separately. Catholics and Orthodox Christians hold Christmas Masses, while Protestants hold Christmas services. Some church celebrations start at midnight. In addition to worship services, Christmas plays are also performed to perform the story of the birth of Jesus. The origin of Thanksgiving The origin of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the beginning of American history. In 1620, the famous "Mayflower" ship arrived in America, carrying 102 Puritans who could not endure the religious persecution in Britain. In the winter between 1620 and 1621, they encountered unimaginable difficulties and were suffering from hunger and cold. When the winter passed, there were only about 50 immigrants who survived. At this time, the kind-hearted Indians brought daily necessities to the immigrants, and specially sent people to teach them how to hunt, fish, and grow corn and pumpkins.

With the help of the Indians, the immigrants finally got a good harvest. On the day of celebrating the harvest, according to religious traditions and customs, the immigrants set a day to thank God, and decided to thank the Indians for their sincere help and invite them to celebrate the festival together.

On the day of the first Thanksgiving, Indians and immigrants gathered together. They fired salutes at dawn, lined up into a house used as a church, and expressed their gratitude to God devoutly. Then a bonfire was lit and a grand banquet was held. On the second and third days, wrestling, racing, singing, dancing and other activities were held. The first Thanksgiving was a huge success. Many of these celebration methods have been passed down for more than 300 years and have been preserved to this day.

At first, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving, which was decided by each state. It was not until the independence of the United States that Thanksgiving became a national holiday.