Winter is warm and romantic, and the fiery red color on Christmas Eve will become the focus ~
There is also the romantic meaning of "tightly surrounding you, love will never be separated", and girls all understand the meaning of pure milk cake.
Enough for two little people. Farewell is too old-fashioned
Pay attention ~ ~ This kind of cake is most suitable for girls, and the most important thing is that eating this kind of cake will not make them gain weight. Nowadays, students and girls always feel fat, so they are always clamoring to lose weight, not eating this or that ~ ~ And boyfriends also want their girlfriends to be in good shape. ~ So dessert is the favorite and the most malicious thing for girls. On Christmas Eve, share the snow-white cake with her. Be sure to tell her that she won't gain weight, and she will have a happy Christmas (65438+February 25th).
Christmas is the most important and widely celebrated festival in the west, which reminds people of the scene that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Christians believe that Christ is the only son of God and the highest gift from God to the world. All people who use the Gregorian calendar take the birthday of Jesus Christ as the beginning of the era. A.D. (ANNODOMINI) means that from the time when Jesus was born, everything before his birth was recorded by BC (before Christ).
Americans celebrate Christmas in different ways because of different cultural backgrounds. The usual activities include church ceremonies, family reunions, listening to music, attending dances, giving greeting cards and distributing gifts. * * * Christians who enjoy the love of Christ now give something to their families, lovers, friends, the poor and the homeless.
This gift-giving festival also includes the legendary Santa Claus. He makes toys for children in the Arctic workshop all year round. On Christmas Eve, he came to the roof by sleigh, slipped into the house along the roof and put presents in the Christmas tree or children's socks. In addition to the Christmas tree, there are evergreen trees, all kinds of colored paper, reindeer, Christmas flowers and yipin flowers to decorate the festival. Traditional Christmas dinner includes turkey, wild goose, raisin pudding and fruitcake.
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Christmas day
Christmas is the biggest and most lively festival in America. Every year on February 25th, 65438, the whole country is immersed in a festive atmosphere.
Christmas was originally a festival for Christians to celebrate Jesus' birthday. But no one knows when Jesus was born. In 354 AD, the Roman Catholic Church stipulated Christmas. But in recent decades, Christmas is no longer just a religious festival, but gradually socialized and became a public holiday stipulated by the government.
According to the Bible, before the birth of Christ, the Roman emperor Augustus issued a decree requiring people all over the world to register. So everyone still goes back to their hometown and registers according to their own home. Yue Se, the husband of the Virgin Mary, originally came from David's Jewish family, so they left Nazareth to live in Bethlehem. But in Bethlehem, all the inns in the city were full and there was nowhere to live, so they had to stay in the stables for the time being. In the evening, Jesus was born in the stable, and even a clean place could not be found here. The virgin Mary had to put Jesus in a manger. That night, the angel came to the outskirts of Bethlehem and reported the good news to the shepherd who was guarding the sheep. At the same time, three wise men in the East found a new star in the sky. Guided by this star, they went to Bethlehem and found Jesus and his mother Mary, and sent many precious gifts, such as gold and frankincense. Many customs of Christmas today come from this legend in the Bible.
According to the saying that Jesus was born at night. Christmas celebrations also began on the evening of February 24th, 65438+ and reached a climax at midnight. This night is called Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve is a night of revelry. Americans often hold celebrations all night. Some of them gather in pubs, dance halls and clubs to have fun; Some families * * * ate a sumptuous dinner, and then sat around the burning stove, playing the piano and singing, and * * * enjoyed family happiness; Those devout believers attended the midnight service to commemorate the birth of Jesus in the brightly lit Catholic church, and some even set up a "Christmas manger" at home. The so-called "Christmas manger" is a small hole made of paper with white powder removed to symbolize white snow. A homemade manger is placed in the hole, and the image of Jesus is placed in the manger. Sometimes the images of Yue Se and Mary are placed beside it. Light candles and send flowers in front of the cave. The "Christmas manger" can not only be used to praise God, but also be watched by relatives and friends. But on Christmas Eve, the most interesting activity is "Good News". It symbolizes that angels report the good news of the birth of Christ to shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem. As night fell, the church choir sang Christmas carols in unison from door to door. So the family will go out and entertain them warmly and sing together. After singing, the host invited everyone into the house and entertained them with refreshments. After the banter, the choir will go to other people's houses to sing. At this time, the host family often goes with them. The "good news" team is getting bigger and bigger, singing from door to door, and the atmosphere of joy is getting stronger and stronger, often lasting until dawn.
Until the dawn of Christmas, familiar people should greet each other cordially when they meet. But instead of saying "good morning" as usual, they said "Merry Christmas". Indeed, on Christmas Day, people are in high spirits, and all kinds of celebrations are being held in every household and street.
When it comes to Christmas, the first thing people think of is a Christmas tree decorated with dazzling array of things. The origin of the Christmas tree can be traced back hundreds of years. It is said that it first appeared in Germany, and it was not until around 1830 that the custom of decorating Christmas trees was brought to the eastern coastal areas of the United States by German immigrants. Since then, the Christmas tree has become an indispensable ornament for Americans to celebrate Christmas. But there are many wonderful legends about the origin of the Christmas tree. One said that a poor child was homeless, cold and hungry on a snowy Christmas Eve. But he was lucky enough to meet a kind farmer, take him home and let him spend a happy Christmas Eve by the fire. Before leaving, the grateful child broke a fir branch and stuck it in the ground. The branch of the fir tree immediately turned into a small fir tree. The child blessed the farmer and said, "From now on, every year on this day, gifts will be hung all over the branches, leaving this beautiful fir tree to repay your kindness." Legends like this add beautiful colors to the Christmas tree.
Every Christmas, people will hang gifts, colorful flowers and colored lights on small fir trees or small pine trees (traditional habit is to hang candles, but later to avoid fire, they will switch to colored lights), and a big star will be installed on the top of the tree. At first, these decorations were symbolic. The candle on the tree symbolizes that Jesus is the light of the world, and the big star on the top of the tree represents the star that led the three wise men of the East to Bethlehem after Jesus was born. The colored lights are on, and the Christmas tree is radiant and charming. At this time, adults will dance and enjoy the Christmas tree, and children will even dance around the Christmas tree hand in hand. Sometimes when playing games, the family blindfolded and took turns touching the lottery tickets in front of the Christmas tree to get their own gifts.
At Christmas, people can't forget the amiable Santa Claus except the Christmas tree. Images of Santa Claus are everywhere in public places and New Year cards. Sometimes at home, a person dresses up as Santa Claus and gives gifts to everyone. In people's imagination, Santa Claus has a silver beard and wears a red coat with white burrs. His vice president is in a good mood. I don't know how much joy he added to Christmas.
According to legend, Santa Claus is the incarnation of Saint Nicholas, the patriarch of Milla in Asia Minor. He was kind and charitable and did a lot of good things before his death. After his death, people missed him very much and called him the god who took care of children. His story was passed down as a myth in Europe and America. It is said that once he secretly gave three bags of gold to a poor man's three daughters for a marriage check-up. When he quietly threw the gold into the chimney, a bag happened to fall into the socks hanging on the fireplace. So the custom of giving gifts to children in socks has been handed down. To this day, naive children always solemnly hang their socks on the fireplace on Christmas Eve, waiting hopefully for Santa Claus to come from the northern snow country in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, just like the legend says. Santa Claus is really kind and mysterious to children. In order to attract business, many big department stores in the United States hire tall and fat people to dress up as Santa Claus during Christmas, take photos with children carried by customers and distribute candy in their stores, which is a way to make money.
Decorating the environment with holly and mistletoe at Christmas is another traditional custom of westerners. Americans often hang a wreath of holly branches on the door or put some holly branches on the table. It is said that green can exorcise evil spirits. The red fruits and green leaves of Holly really make people feel a breath of spring in the cold winter. Better than holly is mistletoe. According to traditional customs, anyone standing under mistletoe at Christmas can kiss the earth. By then. Many families in the United States hang a pile of pepper parasites on indoor doorframes or ceilings. Those naughty boys often deliberately lead girls under the pepper parasite and give her a confident kiss.
There are also delicious Christmas cakes to add color to Christmas. People often make Christmas cakes novel and beautiful. Pour the words "Merry Christmas" with cream or jam on it and insert special Christmas candles around it. The shape of the candle is very small, only three or four inches long, but the materials are exquisite and colorful, and some of them are made into spirals. After lighting it, the host will put it out twice, and then everyone will share the cake. People sometimes put three beans in the cake to represent the three sages in the Bible story. Whoever eats beans becomes the "three kings", which makes people feel very interesting.
Christmas contains so many legends and interesting customs that it is no wonder that it is a lively and extraordinary festival that Americans yearn for. It can be said that since the second day of Thanksgiving, Americans have been busy with Christmas. Every shop is crowded with people, and businessmen should stick out their tongues and sell their various commodities. Ordinary people are willing to take this opportunity to abandon the old updates. According to a rough estimate, the sales of goods in American stores accounted for a quarter of the whole year during Christmas. Some shops even account for half. Take Christmas cards for example. They are piled up everywhere, colorful and colorful. Relatives, friends, classmates and colleagues have to send one, which makes the post office busy even if there are many temporary workers.
Christmas is so important in America that it is hard for people to imagine that their ancestors once banned it. At that time, the English Puritans were persecuted by the Anglican Church and came all the way to the New World. They hate the depravity of the Anglican Church and oppose all practices of the Anglican Church, so they strictly forbid celebrating Christmas. They stipulate that immigrants who dare to celebrate Christmas must be fined. It was not until the19th century that a large number of German and Irish immigrants moved to the United States that this ban was lifted. Nowadays, Christmas has become one of the favorite festivals of the American people, and this past event has also become a historical anecdote.
The custom of Christmas
It is only in recent years that China people have come into contact with Christmas, and the atmosphere varies from place to place. For example, some coastal areas have a festive atmosphere, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, which are located at the southernmost tip of the country. Being close to Hong Kong and an open city, the younger generation has different religious beliefs, but they have regarded Christmas as a day of universal celebration. Now let's watch some regular Christmas programs together. On February 25th, 65438+, the churches will hold worship ceremonies respectively. Catholicism and Orthodox Church hold Christmas prayers, while Protestantism holds Christmas services. In some churches, celebrations begin at midnight.
In addition to the worship ceremony, there will be a Christmas play and the story of the birth of Jesus. Christmas party: an indispensable program for Christmas, including family party, friend party and lover party. A good opportunity for friendship, affection and love gathering. Wearing Christmas hats, singing Christmas songs and talking about everyone's Christmas wishes. Christmas dinner: As a grand celebration festival, Christmas cannot be without food. Christmas turkey dinner is an example of the main course. In the past, people might cook by themselves in the microwave oven. Now, people eat in restaurants for the holidays, and businesses will also take the opportunity to earn customers' money. Of course, there are many Christmas foods, gingerbread, candy and so on. Santa hat: That's a red hat. It is said that you can sleep well at night and feel a little warm, and you will find some gifts from your relatives in your hat the next day. On carnival night, it is the protagonist of the audience. No matter where you go, you will see all kinds of red hats, some with sharp tips and some with golden lights. Christmas socks: It was originally a pair of big red socks, no matter how big, because Christmas socks are used to hold gifts and are children's favorite things. In the evening, they will hang their socks by the bed and wait for presents the next morning. What if someone delivers a car at Christmas? Then you'd better ask him to write a check and put it in his socks. Christmas card: It is a greeting card to celebrate Christmas and New Year. It is printed with pictures about the story of the birth of Jesus and wishes such as "Celebrating Christmas and Happy New Year". Good news: Christmas Eve refers to the night of February 24th to the morning of February 25th. The church organizes some choirs (or formed spontaneously by believers) to sing Christmas carols from door to door or under the window, which is called "good news", which means to reproduce the good news that angels report the birth of Jesus to shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem. People who "deliver good news" are called "Christmas waiters", and this activity often lasts until dawn. There are more and more people, the songs are louder and louder, and the streets are full of songs. Carols: Hymns sung at Christmas are called "Christmas carols". There are many Christmas carols, most of which are taken from famous musicians' masterpieces. I often sing "universal joy, savior arrival" and (JoytotheWorld! ), "AngelsWeHaveHeardonHigh", "ItCametbeMidnightClear", "Beautiful town, OLittleTownofBethlehem, where shepherds look at their flocks, in the distance, angels, the glory from here, listen! TheHeraldAngelsSing), A Christmas Bell, etc., among which Silent Night is the most famous. It is said that in 18 18, an unknown village priest named Oberndorf lived in a small Austrian town. This Christmas, Moore found that the pipe of the church organ was bitten by a mouse, and it was too late to repair it. How to celebrate Christmas? Moore was very unhappy about it. It suddenly occurred to him that it was recorded in the Gospel of Luke that when Jesus was born, after the angel gave good news to the shepherd on the outskirts of Bethlehem, he sang an ode: "Glory to God in the highest place, and peace to those he likes. "He had a brainwave and wrote a hymn based on these two poems, named Silent Night. Moore wrote the lyrics and showed them to gruber, a primary school teacher in this town, and asked him to compose the music. Gelu was scared and moved when he read the lyrics. He wrote a good song and sang it in the church the next day, which was very popular. Later, two businessmen passed by and learned this song. They sang for King William IV of Prussia. William IV appreciated it very much and ordered Silent Night to be one of the songs that churches all over the country must sing at Christmas. In addition, conditional churches will also sing Gandel's Messiah (also known as the Savior) and other music works every Christmas, and strengthen the festive atmosphere through these music worship activities. Santa Claus: It is said that he was originally the bishop of Mela City in Asia Minor, and his name was Saint Nicholas. After his death, he was honored as a saint. He is an old man with a white beard and a red hat. Every Christmas, he drives a sleigh pulled by deer from the north, enters the houses from the chimney, and puts Christmas presents in socks and hangs them on the children's bedside or in front of the stove. Therefore, when westerners celebrate Christmas, parents will put Christmas gifts for their children in socks and hang them on the bedside of Christmas Eve. The next day, the first thing the children woke up was to look for a gift from Santa Claus by the bed. Nowadays, Santa Claus has become a symbol of good luck, not only Christmas, but also an indispensable person to celebrate the New Year. Christmas tree: It is said that a farmer received a hungry and cold child on a snowy Christmas eve and gave him a big Christmas dinner. When the child said goodbye, he broke a fir branch and inserted it in the ground, saying, "Every year, the gifts are full, so leave this beautiful fir village to repay your kindness." "After the child left, the farmer found that the branch had turned into a small tree. He realized that he had received an angel from God. This story became the source of the Christmas tree. In the west, whether Christians or not, a Christmas tree should be prepared for Christmas to increase the festive atmosphere. Christmas trees are usually made of evergreen trees such as cedar and cypress, which symbolizes the longevity of life. The tree is decorated with all kinds of lights and candles, colorful flowers, toys and stars, and hung with all kinds of Christmas presents. On Christmas Eve, people sing and dance around the Christmas tree and have fun. Christmas: refers to the holiday gift that westerners give to the postman or servant at Christmas, usually in a small box, so it is called "ChristmasBox" in English.
Uncover the Secret of Santa Claus's "Life"
Santa Claus, wearing a thick red and white robe, was not actually born in the cold Arctic Circle, but in the town of Deng Lei on the Mediterranean coast, so if he appeared in his hometown in this dress, he would definitely be too hot.
Born in the 4th century.
According to the Associated Press, the story of Santa Claus comes from the religious figure Saint Nicholas. In the 4th century, he served as the bishop of Deng Lei, a sunny town. Later, people added some fairy tales to his life story, and finally he became a familiar Santa Claus with gifts and smiles.
The first Christmas present was gold.
Legend has it that there are 1 poor families in the town who have no money to buy dowry for their three daughters. When Nicholas knew about it, he threw a 1 bag of gold at the family through the window one night, and lost it the next day.
But on the third day, when the window was closed, Saint Nicholas climbed onto the roof and threw a golden bag from the chimney. As a result, it just fell into the socks that girls put in the fireplace to dry, and finally evolved into the tradition of hanging socks on Christmas Eve and waiting for Santa Claus to give gifts.
Odin borrowed a big white beard.
As for Santa Claus's big white beard, it is the image of Odin, the great god who rules the world in Nordic mythology. Odin's riding: eight-legged flying horse, eight elk that evolved into Santa Claus. The behavior of entering the house from the chimney comes from the tradition of ancient Scandinavians; The tradition of preparing biscuits and milk originated from a German folk story in the Middle Ages.
/kloc-In the 20th century, French nuns began to give gifts in the name of Saint Nicholas on the anniversary of Saint Nicholas's death on February 6th, 65438. Later, St Nicholas's gift-giving behavior was related to the story recorded in the Bible, that is, after Jesus was born, three wise men from the East came to see him with gifts, and then it was related to Christmas.
According to Brown, a theologian in Wisconsin, "Slowly, Saint Nicholas became a man whose children could not escape his eyes. Good children will get presents from Santa Claus at Christmas, and bad children will be whipped. "
Christmas Day
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Due to the introduction of foreign culture, in our country, in addition to paying attention to every festival celebration of the lunar calendar, during Christmas, we can see the grand atmosphere of western culture: bustling urban areas and shops on the streets. The hotel is decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and countless Santas, Christmas trees and Christmas presents decorate the whole city with joy, making people feel like they are in a fairy tale world. Especially hotels, restaurants, shopping centers or office buildings run by foreigners, decorate the appearance of buildings into fairy tales; Large-scale Christmas gifts and various imaginative designs make the night sky of the city shine, and this lively atmosphere will last until New Year's Day.