Christmas in Europe (презентация на английском языке)

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What is christmas ? Christmas is an annual celebration in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated mainly on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday among billions of people around the world.

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Holiday traditions Christmas fairs and markets are starting to work in almost all European cities, houses and shops are decorated with special decorations: illuminated garlands, decorated Christmas trees and white fluffy snow. Already closer to Christmas in Europe, children begin to go home with caroling — they sing festive songs and say good wishes to the family. And in return they receive gifts: roasted chestnuts, gingerbread and sweets.

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In Catholic countries, there is no such strict fasting before Christmas as the Orthodox, but there is Advent. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and is considered a time of spiritual purification. Each week of Advent has its own name: the first is called iron, the second – bronze, the third – silver, and the last – gold. And already on December 25, on Christmas itself, three festive liturgies are held in the churches: night mass, morning (at dawn) and daytime. Thus, Christmas is celebrated three times.

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The history of the holiday Two of the four evangelists, Luke and Matthew, have a detailed account of the birth of the Messiah. There are also mentions of this event in two apocryphal (that is, not included in the biblical canon) gospels — Pseudo-Matthew and Proto-Gospel of James. In Russia, Christmas began to be celebrated in the tenth century — after the official adoption of Christianity. In general, throughout the world, Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, which have received the status of a state holiday in more than 100 countries of the world (see the map below).

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The main symbols of the Catholic Christmas Advent Wreath It is made from spruce paws, twigs, just wooden branches. Such a wreath symbolizes not only the theme of Christmas, but also focuses on the fact that this holiday is a family holiday. The wreath is hung on the front door, placed on the windowsill or placed on the dining table.

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Socks for gifts The Christmas holiday in Western countries is closely connected with the New Year. And this means that one of the main characters of these days is Santa Claus (whose prototype is the Christian Saint Nicholas, or, in our opinion, Nicholas) Unlike our Santa Claus, Santa does not put gifts under the Christmas tree, but, going down the chimney, leaves them in special red socks for gifts. The socks themselves are hung next to the Christmas tree or by the fireplace.

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Why do Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Christmas at different times This is due to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the XVI century. Before that, people lived according to the Julian style, which was established by Emperor Julius Caesar in 46 BC, however, over the centuries and years in such a calendar, one unaccounted day ran every 128 years. Therefore, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar, which is more accurate.

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However, in Russia they preferred to leave the old style, because at that time the whole country was closely connected with faith and the church, and the Orthodox Church did not welcome the changes at that time. Since then, Western Christians (Catholics and Protestants), as well as some Orthodox autocephalous churches, have celebrated Christmas on December 25. Here is a detailed description of which church celebrates Christmas when:On December 25, Christmas is celebrated by Catholics, as well as Orthodox Churches in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. On January 7, Orthodox Christians of Russia, Jerusalem, Serbia, Georgia, and Mount Athos celebrate Christmas.