Christmas

What Exactly is Christmas

To many people the world over Christmas is just another public holiday and a time when shops make a lot of money selling gifts and other items which people feel obligated to buy and give others simply because everyone else is doing the same. I would hazard to guess that the real meaning is lost on 60% of people who supposedly celebrate this period.

Christmas is a Christian holiday held on December 25 which celebrates the birth of Jesus. Eastern Orthodox Churches, which use the Julian calendar to determine feast days, celebrate on January 7 by the Gregorian calendar. Both dates are merely traditional and neither is thought to be the actual birth date of Jesus.

It is Christmas time when you walk outside, the air smells crisp and the skies are a little grey. Jack Frost has touched the window panes with his magic fingers and the ice scraper needs to come out of the glove box in order to scrape off the front car window.

Street lights take on a new aura as their red and green lights blink on and off. You begin to drive down the side streets on your way home to see who has the best light show on their lawn, and the children have sent their wish lists off to Santa. If you haven’t guessed what time of year it is, it is Christmas time.

Christmas it represents a Holiday season that has taken on countless meanings all over this diverse country of ours; from snow covered hills to pink lights on palm trees, nativity scenes to peppermint pigs.

Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch, as well as Miracle on 34th Street and its A Wonderful Life, all hold a special place in our hearts. Some of us may travel across the country during Christmas time, while others of us may simply travel across the street.

No matter what theme our Christmas traditions are, there is one very strong connection that we all share. Recent events in our country’s history, [9-11, Hurricane Katrina], remind us all of this connection and continue to strengthen that bond every day. This time of year we gather together with friends and family.

As we gather, some of us may celebrate the birth of Christ, some of us may light candles on a Menorah, and some of us may simply open gifts with glee without a second thought. Yet there is no doubt, no question, which we all gather to celebrate each other.

We get together to celebrate life, and family, and those we love. We gather to enjoy good food, good conversation and good company. We reminisce about past holidays, remember those we love who are no longer with us, and plan for the future. We share photos, we share gifts, and we share laughs.

At Christmas time we look for the innocent sparkle in our children’s eyes as we help them to create their own memories, and tuck them soundly into bed with a smile on their faces as ‘visions of sugar plums dance in their heads.

No matter our age, our race, or our nationality; No matter our heritage, our upbringing, or our traditions; At Christmas time, we live, we laugh, and we love.

In Western countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year. The popularity of Christmas can be traced in part to its status as a winter festival. Many cultures have their most important holiday in winter because there is less agricultural work to do at this time.

Examples of winter festivals that are believed by some to have influenced Christmas include the pre-Christian festivals of Yule and Saturnalia, and many of the traditions associated with the holiday have origins in these pagan winter celebrations.

The majority of Americans celebrate Christmas with the exchange of gifts and greetings and with family visits. For many, the day begins on Christmas Eve with the Midnight Mass. At Christmas it snows in many states, so dinner is usually eaten indoors. Dinner usually is roast turkey, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce, then plum pudding or pumpkin pie followed by nuts and fruit.

All in all Christmas is probably the most wondrous time of the year from a humanitarian perspective. It's the one time when almost all peoples put aside their differences albeit for a few days, still it's worth it.