Merry Christmas 2023 | Happy Christmas Celebration 2023

Merry Christmas, 2023 | Happy Christmas Celebration, 2023

Merry Christmas, 2023 X-mas Celebration, 2023

Christmas is an annual Christian celebration. The festival memorializes the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25. According to the legendary views of the early Christians, Jesus entered Mary's womb exactly nine months before this date.

Undoubtedly, December 25 is considered the date of Jesus' birth. On the other hand, the birth anniversary of Jesus is celebrated on December 25 in connection with a historic Roman festival or Southern Hemisphere Day in the Northern Hemisphere. Christmas is the central day of the Christmas holiday and the beginning of the twelve-day Christmastide ceremony in Christianity.

Despite being a Christian ritual by nature, multiple non-Christian communities also celebrate Christmas in grand style. In some cases, even pre-Christian and secular themes are seen in the organization of the festival. Gifts, music, Christmas card exchanges, church services, feasts, and a special display of Christmas tree, lighting, garlands, Jesus birth, and Holi are part of the modern Christmas festivities.

In some countries, the legend of Father Christmas (Santa Claus in North America, Australia and Ireland) bringing Christmas presents for children is very popular.

The Christmas festivities, including the gift-giving tradition, are especially important in the Christian and non-Christian economies. A special season of trade and commerce takes place on the occasion of this festival. The last few centuries have seen the economic impact of Christmas gradually expand in different parts of the world.

👉 Christmas Celebration, 2023

In most countries of the world, Christmas is celebrated as a major festival or public holiday. Even in a few countries with a non-Christian majority, Christmas is celebrated in grand style. In some non-Christian countries, Christmas celebrations began during the previous colonial rule. In other countries, the celebration of Christmas begins under the influence of minority Christian masses or foreign cultures. However, in some notable countries, such as China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), Japan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Thailand, Nepal, Iran, Turkey and North Korea, Christmas is not celebrated as a public holiday.

👉 Christmas lighting: Merry Christmas

In most countries, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 every year. However, several Eastern National Churches, such as Russia, Georgia, Egypt, Armenia, Ukraine, and Serbia, observe Christmas on January 8. Because all these churches use the traditional Julian calendar.

The December 25 documentary of the Julian calendar falls on January 8 of the Georgian calendar. Throughout the world, the form of Christmas celebrations varies according to cultural and national traditions.

Although the number of Christians is relatively low in countries like Japan and Korea, Christmas is a popular holiday. In all of these countries the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decoration, and the Christmas tree, have been adopted.

👉 Belief regarding the observation of Merry Christmas

In Christianity, Christmas is the birthday of Jesus. According to Christian belief, multiple prophecies concerning the Savior of the original Bible say that their Messiah or Savior would be born in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

The story of Jesus' birth in the New Testament (Matthew 1:16 - 2:12) and the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26 - 2:40) is the basis of the celebration of Christmas. According to this legend, Mary appeared in Bethlehem with her husband Joseph and gave birth to Jesus.

According to popular belief, Jesus was born in a stable surrounded by cattle. Although there is not mentioned of stables or cattle in biblical episodes. However, in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2: 6) there is a reference to a cupbearer: "And she gave birth to your firstborn son, and wrapped him in a cloth, and laid him in a cupboard, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Early images of Jesus' birth depict Jesus in a cave surrounded by cattle and barns. According to popular belief, it is inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. An angel informs the shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem about Jesus' birth. For this reason, they were the first to see the divine child.

Many Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfills the Bible's prophecies concerning the Savior. According to the Gospel of Matthew, some magi (astrologers) went to visit the child with gold, perfume and incense.

It is said that a mysterious star showed them the way. Commonly known as the Star of Bethlehem, this star was, according to popular belief, the herald of the birth of the king of the Jews.

👉 How to celebrate Merry Christmas, 2023

It is to be noted that not only the Christians but also most of the non-Christians people also celebrate Christmas in many ways. Of these, attending church worship is now considered one of the most important and one of the most popular.

There are also various other forms of worship and popular rituals. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes the Nativity fast to commemorate the birth of Jesus before Christmas; In Western Christianity, on the other hand, Advent is observed in most churches. The latest Christmas preparations are made on Christmas Eve.

One of the highlights of the Christmas festivities is the exchange of home decor and gifts. In some Christian sects there is a tradition of young children performing plays about the birth of Christ and singing carols.

Again, some Christians decorate dolls in their homes and have small exhibitions of the birth of Christ. This scene is called the Nativity scene or Crib. Such exhibitions became the main attraction of the festival. Somewhere live nativity scenes are also held with the help of actors and animals, a realistic picture of the birth scene of Jesus is presented in this national program.

The tradition of painting the birth of Jesus in painting is long. All these scenes depict Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, the angel, the shepherd, and the three wise men named Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, who came to visit Jesus after his birth with the help of the stars of Bethlehem.

👉 Christmas food on the occasion of Merry Christmas

Many families hold special family gatherings on the occasion of Christmas. The menu of the banquet, of course, varies from country to country. Twelve kinds of fish are served at Christmas feasts in Sicily and other places. Turkey (imported from North America), potatoes, vegetables, sausages and gravy are common Christmas feasts in England and in countries influenced by English culture; there are also Christmas puddings, mince pies and fruit cakes.

The presence of fish at feasts in Poland, other Eastern European countries and the Scandinavian region is noticeable; however, the use of high-fat meats such as mutton is also on the rise in these areas. Poultry and pork are very popular in Germany, France and Austria. There is also a substantial demand for beef, ham and chicken around the world. Ham is the staple food of the Philippines.

Along with special types of tarts and cakes, special desserts are also made for Christmas. Sweets and chocolates are popular all over the world. Notable Christmas specialties include German Stolen, Marzipan Cake or Candy and Jamaican Ram Fruit Cake. Oranges have long been known as one of the few winter fruits available in northern countries.

👉 Christmas Decoration on Merry Christmas

The use of Christmas trees and evergreen branches has resulted in the Christianization of pagan customs and ceremonies around the southern hemisphere; this practice was adopted from a kind of pagan tree worship ceremony.

The first written mention of the word "Christmas tree" in English was made in 1835. The word was taken from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is thought to have originated in eighteenth-century Germany.

Although, according to the views of some people, the practice was introduced by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. First Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and later Prince Albert, more successfully during the reign of Queen Victoria, imported the practice from Germany to Britain. By 1841, the Christmas tree tradition had spread throughout Britain. In the 1870's, the people of the United States adopted the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is decorated with illumination and ornaments.

In the nineteenth century, a native Mexican tree called Poinsettia was associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday trees are holly, misalto, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. The interior of the house is also decorated with Christmas trees, garlands and evergreen foliage.

Among so many countries in the world, a few countries such as Australia, North and South America and Europe celebrate Christmas decorating the outside of the house, and sometimes decorating dolls with illuminated sleds, snowmen, and other Christmas characters. Municipalities also sponsor this decoration. Christmas banners are hung on streetlights and Christmas trees are placed in town squares.

In the Western world, brightly-colored rollers with secular or religious Christmas motifs are produced on paper for use as gift wrappers. This season also sees the practice of Christmas village scenery in many homes. Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy cans, socks, reeds and angels.

The presentation of the native scene is quite popular in many countries. In all these countries the public is encouraged to create complete and realistic nativity scenes. In some families, the objects or dolls with which this scene is depicted are considered to be valuable family property by inheritance. On the eve of the 5th of January, on the twelfth night, the Christmas decorations were unveiled. The common colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white and heart purple.

👉 Christmas Carols on Merry Christmas

The end of the eighteenth century saw the emergence of a completely secular Christmas season. Deck the Halls was written in 1784. The American "Jingle Bells" were patented in 1857. In the 19th and 20th centuries, African Americans' own religious music, rich in culture and religion, gained widespread popularity.

In the 20th century, seasonal holiday songs began to be sung commercially. Various forms of jazz and blues national anthems are observed in these national anthems. At the same time, there is an interest in the revival of ancient music. Folk songs such as The Reveals and early medieval and classical music were also sung.

👉 Christmas wishing cards

Christmas cards are a kind of illustrated greeting. Christmas cards are usually exchanged between friends and family in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This practice is popular among a large number of people, including Western societies and non-Christian communities in Asia. The traditional greeting message wishing Christmas is "Wish you a Merry Christmas" or “Happy Christmas."

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