单项选择题

Christmas Day What is Christmas The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "’’Christ’’s Mass". Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 AD. Christmas is both a holiday and a Holy Day. In America it is the biggest event of the year (especially for kids) , and for members of the Christian religions. It is an important day on the religious calendar. The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday ( other federal holidays are: New Year’’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington’’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of 6 holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year’’s Day) , Ascension, Assumption ( Mary’’s Assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1) , and the Immaculate Conception (December 8 ) . Why does everyone give each other presents on Christmas day The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible’’s book of Matthew, " On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh(没药). " As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800’’s. The Santa Claus story combined with an amazing retailing phenomena that has grown since the turn of the century has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition. Why is there a small evergreen tree in your living room This is a German tradition, started as early as 700AD. In the 1800’’s the tradition of a Christmas Tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants. Why have you decorated this evergreen with ornaments, lights, fake snow and plastic tinsel In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880 Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas Tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel… Who knows It’’s probably related to the song "White Christmas". Why do you have holly drape over the mantel and staircase Mistletoe (槲寄生) has apparently been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals. According to the book Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things by Charles Panati, " the church forbade the use of mistletoe in any form, mindful of its idolatrous associations. As a substitute, it suggested holly(冬青属植物). The sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ’’s crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Holly became a nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the middle ages. Surprisingly, as late as the 20th century, there were churches in England that forbade the wearing of mistletoe sprigs and corsages during services. " Why is there a big log in the fireplace According to the book The Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins by William and Mary Morris, " Yuletide for Christmastime is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the nineteenth century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. Yule can be traced back to the Middle English Yollen (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the Winter Solstice, December 22) that nights were becoming shorter. According to this page, "Up until the 19 th century, the custom of burning the Yule Log flourished in England, France, Germany and among the South Slavs. Out of oak, families carved a heavy, wood block. They placed it into the floor of their hearth. It glowed throughout the year under the flames of household fires. Gradually it became ash. " Why are there poinsettias on the hearth Poinsettias were attached to Christmas starting in 1828. Joel Roberts Poinsett, then the first Mexican ambassador from the United States, imported the plant from Mexico. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, " In warm climates the poinsettia grows outdoors as a winter-flowering leggy shrub about 3 metres (10 feet) high; as a potted plant in northern areas it rarely grows beyond 1 metre. What appear to be petals are actually colored leaflike bracts (苞片) that surround a central cluster of tiny yellow flowers. A milky latex in the stems and leaves can be irritating to persons or animals sensitive to it, but the claim that poinsettias are deadly poisonous is greatly exaggerated. " And what about these fruit cakes According to The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauere and Marion Becker, ""Many people feel that these cakes improve greatly with age. When they are well saturated with alcoholic liquors, which raise the spirits and keep down mold, and are buried in powdered sugar in tightly closed tins, they have been enjoyed as long as 25 years after baking. " Why are there oversized socks hanging on your mantel According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. Up until lately it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes. According to this page, the tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy. Why are Christmas cards scattered all over the coffee table Christmas cards started in London in 1843 and in America in 1846. Today about 2 billion Christmas cards are exchanged every year in the United States. Why do I keep hearing the same songs over and over again There is a set of songs that are played continuously during the Christmas Season. Here’’s a pretty complete list; Away In A Manger Carol of the Bells Deck The Halls God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Jingle Bells Joy To The World Hark, The Herald Angels Sing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas I’’ll Be Home For Christmas It Came Upon A Midnight Clear Little Drummer Boy O, Come All Ye Faithful O, Holy Night O, Little Town of Bethlehem O, Tannenbaum Rudolf, the Red Nose Reindeer Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Silent Night Silver Bells The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) The First Noel The Twelve Days of Christmas We Wish You A Merry Christmas What Child Is This White Christmas Winter Wonderland Since this list is so short, you tend to hear each song 700 times over the course of the few weeks leading up to Christmas. It was Mexicans that first used poinsettias on the hearth to celebrate Christmas.