Difference between revisions 5927784 and 5928084 on simplewiki

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}⏎
[[File:8452 - Milano - S. Marco - Londonio - Presepe (ca 1750) - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 14-Apr-2007.jpg|thumb|300px|''The Adoration of the Shepherds'' from a crib made of painted board by Francesco Landonio, 1750, Italy]]

'''Christmas''' (which means "[[Jesus|Christ]]'s [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=996|title=History of the Name “Christmas”|website=Celebrating Holidays|language=en-US|accessdate=2017-11-25November 25, 2017}}</ref>) is a [[holiday]] that is celebrated on December 25. It is a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. [[Christianity|Christians]] celebrate Christmas Day as the birthday of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating [[Christmas tree|Christma(contracted; show full)
In the 4th century, in a Greek village that is now part of Turkey, there was a good man who would secretly given presents to the poor to help them. He became a bishop and is called Saint Nicholas. Over the centuries, he became a very popular saint and lots of churches were named after him. He was very popular in places where there were lots of sailors. One of those places was the Netherlands. In the Netherlands and many other European countries, presents are given on the feast of Saint Nicholas, December 6
th. Traditionally, the presents are not big, and are sometimes hidden, or have a funny joke or poem that must be read. In many towns of Europe a man dressed in bishop's robes comes on a horse or in a boat, acting as St. Nicholas. His name was often shortened to Sante Claus, or Santa Claus in English.

[[File:Reyes Magos en centro comercial.jpg|thumb|250px|In Spain it is the Three Wise Men who bring gifts to children.]]
In English speaking countries, where presents are usually given on Christmas Day, not December 6th, Santa Claus, (or Father Christmas) is usually thought of as coming on the night of Christmas Eve, when his magic sleigh is pulled across the sky by reindeer, and he comes into houses through the chimney (or the front door). While in Europe, children put out their shoes for St. Nicholas, the English tradition is to hang up stockings (or long socks) in front of the fireplace. Santa Claus would traditionally fill the socks or shoes with nuts, raisins, chocolates and an orange. Nowadays children usually get much more expensive presents, have their stockings filled with candy and/or small toys, and have the presents in a big pile under the Christmas tree.

Another Christmas tradition is the sending of Christmas cards to friends and relatives. These contain warm greetings and may also have a letter telling all the things that have happened to the person or family during the year.

== Related pages ==
* [[Christianity]] 
* [[Advent]] 
* [[Epiphany (holiday)]] 
* [[Carnival]]
* [[Easter]] 
* [[Pentecost]] 
* [[Holiday]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
{{wiktionary|Christmas}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons|Christmas}}
* {{dmoz|Society/Holidays/Christmas/|Christmas}}
* {{en icon}} {{fr icon}} & ([[Occitan language|Occitan]]) [http://mtcn.free.fr/mtcn-traditional-music-midi-christmas-carol.php Traditional Christmas carols from County of Nice, France]
* [http://mytrendexpert.com/2016/10/07/hottest-2016-christmas-toys/ Christmas & Ideas For Your Children]{{U.S. Holidays}}


[[Category:Christmas]]