Chapter: 1 Celebrating Christmas Holidays – History and Significance Christmas is indeed among the greatest and most awaited religious festival celebrated in the Western part of the world. You might already know that the actual name of this festival is Christ’s Mass, and it is one if the most important holiday in the calendar of Christians as it commemorates the birth of Lord Jesus. As per the Hebrew Old Testament, Lord Jesus was the savor of the Jews. All the believers of Christianity throughout the world celebrate this festival with much enthusiasm. The people of different countries have their own separate ways of celebrating this day. But, the essence and significance of Christmas remains the same. The most popular of the traditions that is generally followed today is that of the Americans and the British. They usually involve in age old traditions like gift-giving and dressing up as Santa Clause to delight the children. The concept of Santa Clause with round jelly belly and a red nose has its roots in their traditions. The exact date of the birth of Lord Jesus is not know, however Christmas is celebrated ever year to commemorate his birth. It is believed that during the days of the reign of the Roman Empire in 4th Century AD, Christmas became an important day to celebrate. In the second half of the century, Christianity became the official religion of the state and since then Christmas is celebrated every year on the 25th of December. Christmas Holidays: Ideas For Fun & Celebrations Throughout the world, it is widely accepted that this festival was specifically chosen to be celebrated on this date with the intention to bring together the traditions of the Old pagan and the new Christians. Romans were known to commemorate their God Saturn with a holiday which was celebrated on the 17th of December. This holiday initiated the custom of giving out gifts to the near and dear ones. The Romans also worshipped another God known as 'Sol Invictus'. These similarities helped the Romans to accept Christianity. Chapter: 2 Remembering The Birth Of Christmas Carols When the carols are sung, it creates the atmosphere for Christmas, and you can feel the significance of this holy day. There are several Christmas carols composed on Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and the holiday of Christmas. Many of them are much older than you can imagine. You will be surprised to know that one of the oldest carols that are sung even today was actually created in the 300s. The first ever Christmas carol written by a human is believed to be "Of the Father's Love Begotten," written by Aurelius Prudentius. The Christian leaders have over the years created several Christmas carols to be sung during the festival time. Some of the most popular among them are the songs by St. Francis of Assisi, and the ones that were put together by Italians during Renaissance. Some of the British also added a few mix to the collection of the Christmas carols. The popularity of these carols grew rapidly when the well known inventor, Johannes Gutenberg started his printing press around 1447. The machine created thousands of copies of the carols and these were distributed among people so that they can sing and have fun during the holiday season. However, around this time Christianity was strict and under the control of the Puritans, many times the carols were frowned over. There are times when the Christmas carol prints were completely destroyed purposely. In England, when the Puritans ruled the country, it was banned in total. It wasn’t long when again the Christmas carols were created. This time the Messiah by George Frederich Handel became very popular and he sung it in Ireland in 1742 to raise funds for charity. Another very famous carol, 'Silent Night, Holy Night,' was written around the same time in 1818 by Joseph Mohr, a priest in Austria. Despite of all these efforts, it was not until the 1800s that the Christmas carols started appearing. Today, the popularity has increased with technology. Earlier it was heard in radio and records. Today, these carols are available in CDs and DVDs. Grab Your Copy For Only . . . $4.95 I know you will get something from this well written eBook! Remember: Knowledge is power - And Great Knowledge is Powerful. When reading an eBook can MOVE you - Isn’t that feeling worth the price of the wonderful read? ENJOY! APPLY! SHARE!

4.95 USD InStock