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Christmas is a yearly holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and many families exchange Christmas gifts. It is celebrated on December 25th.

There are many holiday traditions including Christmas dinner, sending Christmas cards, visiting Santa, baking Christmas cookies and making homemade Christmas candies. Homes are decorated inside and out with colorful lights and holiday decorations. People usually try to spread goodwill, compassion and peace during the Christmas holiday season.

Some countries celebrate on Christmas Eve, other on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, while other countries celebrate Boxing Day on December 26th. One church, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6th. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The date is just a tradition and is not considered to be Jesus’ actual birth date.

The word “Christmas” actually comes from two words: Christ’s mass. Many of the seasons decorations lead back to Christ’s birth such as Nativity managers, star ornaments and the giving of gifts.

Christmas day during the Middle ages was more of a festival. King William I of England chose Christmas Day to be crowned king in 800.

During the Reformation, Protestants condemned the celebration of Christmas as mere trappings, while Catholics promoted the festival as a religious event.

Colonial America saw the Puritans disapproving of the trappings of the Christmas celebration and it was outlawed in Boston in 1659 to 1681. However Christian residents of Virginia and New York celebrated the holiday.

Charles Dickens’ book “A Christmas Carol”, published in 1843 did much to revive the holiday that was to instill goodwill and compassion. Washington Irving also wrote short stories about Christmas and the “Twas the Night Before Christmas Poem by Clement Clarke.

Whichever day you and your family celebrate Christmas it is important to make it as special a day as possible.

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Discovering new Christmas party games can be a very fun way to spruce life into old-fashioned, traditional parties. You can instantly skyrocket your status as a party planner with some of these fun Christmas party game ideas.

One fun idea is to make all of the guests open their presents with oven mitts. This is sure to garner a lot of laughs as people struggle to unravel the tape and wrapping paper.

You can also give everybody a small bag of 10 chocolates when they enter the party. Make a rule that if someone catches them saying certain words such as “Santa”, “Presents”, “Christmas”, etc, they need to surrender a piece of their chocolate to that person. The person with the most chocolate at the end is the winner.

Have an “ugly sweater” theme. The person with the ugliest sweater wins a prize. This can be a good Christmas party game for parties in which everybody doesn’t know each other.

Have a wrapping contest. Blindfold people at the party, set a timer, and see how far people can get with wrapping a gift or box when they can’t see. Cut the wrapping paper to fit the box ahead of time, as playing with scissors blindfolded can be harmful. See who gets the furthest and award them a prize.

Have a gift-wrapping or unwrapping relay. Divide the partygoers into two teams. Make a station with gift-wrap, scissors, and tape. The first person has to run to the station and wrap the gift. When they are done, they have to run back, and the next person in line repeats. For younger children, this can be an unwrapping party. Either way, this is an enjoyable Christmas party game.

Play a “Guess What’s In The Stocking” Christmas party game. Put awkward shaped objects inside stockings, and make people guess what they are. Some ideas can be pine cones, candy canes, or star shaped items.

Christmas Bingo can be a fun time. Make an empty Bingo sheet, and have people fill in the boxes with words that they associate with Christmas, such as “ornament”, “garland”, or “Christmas tree”. Give out Hershey kisses to use as markers, and see who wins this amusing Christmas party game.

Take two decks of cards. Keep one for yourself, and shuffle out the other deck to the partygoers. Keep a few presents on a table near everybody. A good rule of thumb is to have half as many presents as partygoers for this one. After everybody gets their cards, take your deck, and read the card suit and numbers out loud. When people have that card, they get to take a present from the middle. After the presents run out, people get to take the presents from each other. This can be a very enjoyable Christmas party game (especially for the people that get to keep the presents!).

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Christmas traditions, like most traditions, are falling by the way side these days. More and more frequently, you hear people say how when they were children, they had several familial Christmas traditions. In this day of split families, short Christmas breaks, friendly distractions, and hectic schedules, it is hard to find the time to pass Christmas traditions to your children. However, passing on Christmas traditions is not difficult to incorporate into your holiday this year.

One of the things most people remember about their fondest Christmas traditions is the food. The holidays have always been a time for good food and warm times spent in the kitchen. This is a great time to spend with your child. Have them help you make Christmas cookies, pies, rolls, salads, and if your brave enough, have them help with the turkey. Not only can you get extra help frosting all those sugar cookies, but also you are passing on a wonderful Christmas tradition while doing something you would have to do anyways.

Though the time for opening Christmas presents varies from family to family, it is a simple Christmas tradition to start for your children. For example, everyone can fondly identify with the little boy from the “Christmas Story,” who eagerly awaits Christmas morning so he can open his presents. Even as an adult, sometime I feel the pull to gently unwrap a corner of a present and sneak a peek. Making your child wait to open presents is a Christmas tradition almost all of us can identify with.

Yet, I’d say the most important Christmas tradition you can share with your children is that of charity. At no time of the year is it easier to share with your child the pleasure and rewards of serving or helping your fellow man. Peace on earth and good will to men is easier to point out during the holiday seasons. Setting up a tradition of charity with your children will be a Christmas tradition your children will remember.

Whether you follow these steps or make up Christmas traditions of your own, I’m sure you’ll agree they are important. Sharing Christmas traditions with your children can be simple when you include them in your daily errands. Snag them to help you cook, make them wait to open their presents, and participate in charity as a family. These are the type of long lasting Christmas traditions your children will remember.

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The holidays conjure up all sorts of feelings in people. For families that have experienced happy harmonious celebrations the holidays are something to look forward to. For families that have a history of being dysfunctional the holidays my mean sad memories and dread at getting together again. For families that do not celebrate the holidays due to their belief’s it may be a time of feeling excluded and even alienated. No matter where you fall in this continuum the holidays are quickly approaching and gift lists and shopping needs to begin.

 I have been fortunate to have wonderful memories of Christmas’ past. My family had many wonderful traditions involving gift giving, baking, visiting relatives and friends and of course attending religious services. Now that I am an adult I continue to see Christmas as a magical time. I rarely stress about what I am going to give people on my gift list because I make the majority of my gifts. Through the year I make several different craft items which I include in Christmas gift baskets along with goodies that I make in my kitchen. I originally started giving the Christmas gift baskets when I was a college student and could not afford a great deal for gifts. Now I continue to give them because the recipients look forward to the homemade goodies they contain. Because not having funds is not longer a factor for me I use the best ingredients in my food items and high quality materials in the craft items.

Through the year I look for different containers to use for the Christmas gift baskets. Most times I do use baskets however depending upon the likes and personality of the recipient I may use another type of container. One year my nephew was just getting into fishing so I used a tackle box for his container. There are also times when I come across beautiful hat boxes that make a great alternative to a basket. Although each of the gifts I give is unique the standard fair for the Christmas gift baskets include something knitted or crocheted, either socks, slippers mittens, scarf or hat, a piece of beaded jewellery for the women, a loaf of bread, homemade jam, caramels, fudge and a specially made candied apple. It really makes me feel good when I hear people cheer when I show up with the Christmas gift baskets. I feel like I am giving part of myself in each gift that I give. Also I do not have to fight crowds and full parking lots. The making of the gifts are my year long past time.

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Spanish Christmas traditions involve many unique holiday activities. Learn more about the Christmas traditions in Spain with this free holiday video.

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        Christians celebrate Christmas to observe the birth of Jesus Christ, which is an event and not a tradition. But many other
activities related to celebrating the Christmas season evolved from certain traditions, many of which are from other countries,
particularly from peoples in Europe.

    Among common items used in Christmas decorations are the holly and the mistletoe. Both are used primarily in wreaths and garlands. The Druids started the tradition of using the mistletoe as decorative items up to two hundred years before Christ. To celebrate the winter season, the Druids would gather the plants and use them to decorate their homes. The Druids believed the mistletoe would bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. They also believed that the mistletoe had a healing quality and could be
used for everything from healing wounds to increase fertility. 
    In Scandinavia, the mistletoe was seen as a plant of peace and harmony and was associated with Frigga, the goddess of love. This association is probably what led to the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. In the Victorian period, the English also would hang mistletoe from ceilings and in doorways during holidays. The habit developed that if someone was standing under the mistletoe, someone else in the room would kiss that person. Such outright behavior was not generally seen in Victorian society.
    The use of the mistletoe in Christmas celebrations was once banned by the church however because of its associations with pagan traditions, and the use of holly was suggested as a substitute.
    Poinsettias are another traditional decorative flower used at Christmas. It is native to Mexico and is named after Joel Poinsett, who was the first U.S ambassador to Mexico and who brought the plants to America in 1828. Mexicans believe the plants were a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem and that’s one reason they are associated with Christmas. There’s also the story that a young
boy was going to see the Nativity Play at a church but realized he didn’t have a gift for Baby Jesus. The boy gathered some green branches, which others scoffed at. But as he placed them near the manger, a bright red poinsettia flower started to bloom on each branch, which gave rise to their traditional use at Christmas.
    Candy canes became a Christmas tradition not because their red and white stripes matched the colors of the season, but for the most unusual reason of discipline. that’s because they were first used as treats that were give to German children to keep them

well-behaved for the duration of church sermons. Over time, the legend of candy canes at Christmas came to be associated with some of the strongest symbols and beliefs of Christianity: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost known as the Trinity, the Blood of the Son of God, Jesus as the embodiment of holiness, purity and without sin and the Son of God as the shepherd of man. The candy cane represents these symbols respectively with its three stripes, its red and white color and its shape.
    Sending greeting cards during Christmas and the holidays is as prevalent today as the custom of giving gifts. The tradition of sending Christmas cards started in 1840 in Britain with the start of public postal delivery service of the ‘Penny Post.’ Then from about 1860, large numbers of Christmas greeting cards started to be produced. The popularity of the cards increased in Britain when
they could be sent by the postal service for one half-penny, which was half the price to post a standard letter at the time, if they were in an unsealed envelope. Religious pictures of Mary, Joseph , Baby Jesus, the angels, shepherds and Wise Men were traditionally placed on Christmas cards. Some cards today include scenes from the Nativity, but pictures of Santa Claus, winter scenery, Christmas
trees, gift packages and others are also depicted on contemporary Christmas greeting cards.

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Christmas Traditions -  All About Santa Claus

One of the most popular Christmas traditions is that of Santa Claus .It’s only fitting that since Santa Claus has the magnificent capability to visit homes around the world in a single night that more than one place would claim to be his home. It’s common belief that Santa hails from the wintry North Pole, but folks in Finland will also tell you that Santa calls that country his home. To prove it, the Finns will even invite you to visit Santa in his workshop before Christmas or during the year and talk with Santa Claus as he and his elves busy themselves for their end-of-year Christmas expedition around the globe.

It is interesting to trace the origin of the Santa Claus Christmas tradition. The popularity in America today of the images and legend of Santa Claus can be traced to the poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,’ that was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. In that poem, Moore described St. Nicholas as a jolly fellow who flew from house to house in a sleigh pulled by reindeers and waited for children to go to bed on Christmas Eve before he came down the chimney to deliver Christmas presents for them.

Following the distribution of that poem, the popular magazine Harper’s Weekly published cartoons by Thomas Nast between 1863 and 1886 that depicted Santa as a cheerful fellow with a large round belly and long white beard who wore a bright red suit that was trimmed with white fur. In those cartoons, Santa also held a sack, which was filled with toys for boys and girls, over his shoulder. The cartoons also showed Santa reading letters from good boys and girls, working in his workshop with his elves, checking his list to make sure he had all the required toys and even showed his wife, Mrs. Claus.

The tradition of Santa Claus was brought to America however by Dutch colonists who settled in New York City, which was called New Amsterdam at the time. The real St. Nicholas is said to be a minor saint from the 4th Century with a reputation for generosity and kindness that gave rise to legends of many miracles that he performed for the poor and unhappy. One of the stories about the legend of St. Nicholas is that he saved three poor girls who were sisters from being sold into a life of slavery or prostitution by their father.

According to the legend, Santa Claus provided the girls with a dowry so that they could get married. The legend of St. Nicholas led to hundreds of people being devoted to him and consequently thousands of European churches became dedicated to him.

After the Reformation period however, widespread practice and worship of St. Nicholas disappeared in European countries that were Protestant, except in Holland where the legend of St. Nicholas continued. St. Nicholas was known as Sint Nikolaas but that was later corrupted to Sinter Klaas. Dutch colonists took this tradition of Sinter Klaas to New York City where it was adopted using the English name of Santa Claus.

Over time, the Dutch legend of the kindly saint was combined with old Nordic folktales about a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good ones with presents to give rise to the stories that now exist about Santa Claus. The red and white-trimmed suit of Santa Claus is believed to be the colours that the original St. Nicholas wore because red and white were the colours of the robes worn by traditional bishops.

It is also believed that the Coca Cola Co. played a role in what is regarded as the popular look of Santa Claus today through paintings by artist Haddon Sundblom that were placed in some of the company’s advertisement between 1931 and 1964.

We shall be looking at more Christmas traditions in suibsequent blogs so bookmark this page and keep in touch.

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German Christmas traditions involve many unique holiday activities. Learn more about the Christmas traditions in Germany with this free holiday video.

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