It’s Christmas Time

Though December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the date itself and several of the customs we've come to associate with Christmas actually evolved from pagan traditions celebrating the winter solstice. 

"Christmas is really about bringing out your inner pagan," historian Kenneth C. Davis has said.

According to Davis, Christmas was celebrated as early as the fourth century, suggesting that it had almost nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

"In ancient Rome there was a feast called Saturnalia that celebrated the solstice. 

What is the solstice? It's the day that the sun starts coming back, the days start getting longer. 

And most of the traditions that we have that relate to Christmas relate to the solstice,  which was celebrated in ancient Rome on December 25. 

So when Christianity became the official religion in a sense, in Rome, they were able to fix this date. ... There's a little discrepancy about it but there's no question that the fact that it was celebrated in Rome as an important day with gift giving, candle lighting, and singing and decorating houses really cemented Christmas as December 25."

December 25 is a popular day for birthdays…here are just a few…

Boxing Day Just Around The Corner

Boxing Day takes place each year on December 26, the day after Christmas. 

Both days are rooted primarily in the spirit of giving. 

Boxing Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom and other British Commonwealth nations such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. 

While there are no religious ties in those nations, it does have religious connections in Ireland and Spain, where it is known as Saint Stephen’s Day.

Boxing Day has also been adopted in other European countries, such as Hungary, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands, where it has become the second day of Christmas.

According to legend, the name Boxing Day dates back to Queen Victoria’s time on the British throne. 

In those days, the royal family and others in the upper echelons of society would box up gifts for their servant staff as well as gifts for the poor. 

The day after Christmas was traditionally a day off for all servants and employees, who would bring the boxed gifts home as Christmas presents.

The Philippines Christmas Parol

 

We post this every year and we want to share it with you yet again.

Do you know which country celebrates Christmas the longest? 

If you guess the Philippines, you are correct. 

Christmas is celebrated early in the Philippines, we’re talking early November.

You can hear Christmas carols being played, the streets starting to be decorated with Christmas decorations.

These decorations include the traditional parol, a five point star-shaped Christmas lantern (something like a Pentagram) which has been a time-honoured Christmas symbol in the Philippines. 

 

You see parols hanging in every street and road of towns and cities, outside almost every Filipino homes, in schools and office buildings, shopping malls, and even churches during the entire Christmas season which usually starts as early as November. 

There is no other Christmas symbol in the Philippines that shows more warmth than these Christmas lanterns called parol. 

These Christmas lanterns are very unique to the Philippines. 

Parol-making is a traditional folk craft of Filipinos. 

It is even taught to school children. 

Schools hold lantern parades every year to showcase the artwork of these students. 

Christmas and Mrs.Claus

 

Marks and Spencer in 2016 offered up this holiday campaign, directed by King's Speech director Tom Hooper. 

The story featured new character - Mrs. Claus, the wife of Santa. It's fun, interesting and something different.