Christmas

The Decline of Christmas

Christmas is a Christian festival that is held every year on the 25th of January. It has been a tradition for centuries, although now, the meaning behind it seems to be lost. December 25th is the day when Jesus, the Son of God, was born.

The story is narrated by school children all over Britain and the world as a Nativity Play.

Virgin Mary and Joseph travelled on a donkey to Bethlehem. None of the inns had any rooms free but one kind innkeeper allowed them to stay in his stable. Three shepherds saw a bright star and were told by the Angel Gabriel to follow the star to Bethlehem, where the saviour would be born. The wise men were also told to go and see the saviour in Bethlehem. They took with them, gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jesus was born in a manger surrounded by the farm animals in the stable, but he was the saviour of mankind so his birth is celebrated. His birth was also a miracle because he was born to a Virgin and he was born with a halo around his head.

In Christianity, it is tradition to exchange gifts on Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

It is a legend that a man used to give out presents to those who were poor and hungry on Christmas. He was called Saint Nicholas, Noel, Saint Nick or most popularly, Father Christmas or Santa Claus because he made the children so happy on one day every year.

Because of the legend of Saint Nick, it also became a custom to put up a huge fir tree or Christmas tree for him to put presents nearby. Stockings were hung up near the fireplace for him to put little goodies and fruit into. It was said that he flew on reindeer in a massive sleigh, coming down chimneys to deliver his presents. Milk, cookies, carrots for the reindeer, all sorts of things was left out to make Santa Claus’ job easier. Slowly, the rumours spread and grew more and more unbelievable until Santa became a fictional character.

Because of such rumours and stories, Christmas became more about the presents that Santa brings and children became worried as to whether they were on the Nice List or not. Nobody really appreciated the deeper meaning of Christmas and slowly but surely, it became an artificial festival for most young people.

People used to sing Christmas Carols depicting Jesus’ birth in the stable and although these are still popular as all music is, more and more “Santa Carols” came along. All these carols such as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” and many more, found their places amongst hymns and carols such as “Silent Night” and “Away in a Manger”.

All in all, Christmas, although it still has some meaning and people do remember the story behind it and the teaching about giving selflessly, has turned into a festival to celebrate winter, snow, and Santa Claus.

Sources: My head, R.S. (religious studies) textbook

50 points.