Boxing Day Boxing Day is also Saint Stephens Day, on the 26th of December.

In medieval times every church had an alms box, in which the worshippers could put a gift for the poor of the parish. The box was always opened one day after Christmas and the contents were always shared among the needy. Today the box is usually no more than an envelope containing money. Gifts are given to individual tradesmen (the milkman, the postman, the delivery boy) Carol The term comes from Greek meaning chorus a round dance or song. The earliest English Christmas carols go far back as the 13th century and they originally came from France. The congregation of small churches was unable to read the solemn music which was particularly sung in monasteries. So carols provided a cheerful alternative form of singing for the great population. Carols were accompanied by play-acting, which in time became more and more down-to-earth. Finally the church authorities banned carols from church premises. The carol-singers started singing their songs while wandering around towns and villages. This custom explains why today we still have traditional visits from door-to-door carol-singers before Christmas. Christmas Candles In ancient times the sun was worshipped as a god. The pagans lit sacred fires to it to celebrate the Birth of the Sun at the start of another year. Christianity borrowed this custom and since Christ was the Light of the World, people were encouraged to lit many candles to the Son of God. One or several candles were usually placed in a window to guide the spirit of Christ through the dark night towards your home. The candles fixed to the Christmas tree often caused problems as they could easily set the tree alight. So, more often than not, a junior servant, armed with a long pole at whose end there was a wet sponge, stood next to the tree, ready to stop the disaster. Christmas Cards Sir Henry Cole, a busy, energetic and inventive man realized he could not send handwritten letters at Christmas to all the members of his huge circle of family. In 1843 he asked a member of the Royal Academy to design a Christmas card for him. Cole had 1000 printed on stiff cardboard by lithography and then hand-coloured. Although Cole was not successful from the very beginning, by 1860s Christmas cards became extremely popular. Coles very first card showed a cheerful family, and on either side pictures of poor people as a reminder of those in need. The written message states: A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you! a wording that has remained ever since. Christmas Glass Baubles About one hundred years ago, some glass-blowers in Bohemia, in a playful mood at the end of the day, started a contest to see who could blow the largest glass bubbles. When the contest was ready they discarded them, but their wives took them to local Christmas markets where they were sold as novelties. They were called Spirit Balls and it was said that the Evil Eye could not enter the house where they were hung.

Christmas Tree Originally the tree that was worshipped was the oak. The Christian missionaries in Germany succeeded to turn the pagan custom of revering the oak to that of worshipping the fir-tree. With its triangular shape, the fir symbolizes God Father at the top, God the Son and God the Spirit at the two lower points. The first Christmas tree was brought over to England from Germany in 1846 by Prince Albert, Queen Victorias husband. Christmas Wreaths The use of wreaths can be traced back to ancient Rome. Part of their New Year celebrations involved the exchange of presents. Originally they were branches of evergreens which symbolized a healthy household in the coming year. To make them more attractive they used to bend the branches into a ring, or a wreath. Today if we wish to follow the Roman tradition we should hang only a wreath that has been given to us by someone else. Mistletoe Mistletoe was a special plant for the druids who believed that it kept alive the spirit of the oak tree on which it grew. Among its many supposed magical powers, mistletoe was said to protect against sorcery and witchcraft. A string of mistletoe hung in a house keeps away evil spirits. Kissing under the mistletoe is a British custom and originally the mistletoe could be any plant round a small effigy of the Holly Family. Any person visiting the house during the Christmas period had to be embraced as they crossed the threshold to demonstrate that, in the holly season, everyone was loved in a Christian way. Yuletide Yuletide is the ancient Viking festival of midwinter which celebrated the Birth of the Sun and involved a series of rituals intended to re-awake nature and start off another year., When Christianity arrived in northern Europe, the Birth of the Sun became transformed into the Birth of the Son. Father Christmas and Santa Claus In ancient times people feared the forces of nature. Winter meant a lot of hardships for them. To persuade it to be milder, they dressed up to represent Winter and made him as welcome as possible. The British took up this custom and called him Old Winter, Old Christmas, or Old Father Christmas. Much later, he became confused with Santa Claus. Long ago Father Christmas was dressed in a whole range of different colours. In 1930s Coca-Cola decided to use Santa Claus in their winter advertising campaigns and the colours were the official trade colours of Coca-Cola red and white. His name comes from the Dutch for St. Nicholas which is Sinterklaas. St. Nicolas was the Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the 4th century. He was rich and used to help others. One story about him is that he liked to give money to the needy, but as he was a shy person he offered it anonymously. One day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney of a family of needy girls. The purse landed in the stockings which the girls had hung up by the fire to dry. In memory of him it became customary to give gifts on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, the 6th of December. The Americans gave Santa Claus a sleigh and a team of reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph). Ziua cadourilor

Ziua cadourilor e de asemenea ziua n care se srbtorete Sfntul tefan, pe 26 Dedembrie. n Evul Mediu fiecare biseric avea o cutie a milei, in care credincioii puteau pune daruri pentru saracii parohiei. Cutia se deschidea intotdeauna in a doua zi de Crciun iar coninutul era mprit mereu celor nevoiai. Astzi cutia nu e altceva dect un plic ce conine bani. Daruri se dau micilor comerciani (lptarului, potaului, comisionarului) Colindul Termenul englezesc pentru colind provine din limba greac insemnnd cor - a dansa i a cnta in cor. Primele colinde de Crciun englezeti au aprut nc din secolul al XIII-lea i provin din Frana. Congregaia bisericilor mici nu reueau s deslueasc muzica sacr ce era cntata n special n mnstiri. Astfel, colindele aduceau n schimb, pentru marea majoritate, un mod vesel de a cnta. Colindele erau insoite de scenete, care n timp au devenit din ce n ce mai prozaice. n cele din urm autoritile bisericeti au interzis colinzile n biseric. Colindtorii au ncput s-i cnte cntecele hoinrind prin orae i sate. Acest obicei explic de ce azi pstrm nc tradiia de a merge din cas n cas cu colinda nainte de Crciun. Lumnrile de Crciun n antichitate soarele era venerat ca zeu. Pgnii i aprindeau focuri sacre pentru a srbtorii Naterea Soarelui la nceputul unui nou an. Cretinismul a preluat aceast tradiie , i pentru c Iisus este Lumina Lumii, oamenii au fost ncurajai s-i aprind multe lumnri Fiului lui Dumnezeu. Una sau mai multe lumnri se puneau la o fereastr pentru ca spiritul lui Christos s fie cluzit prin noapte ctre acea cas. Lumnrile puse pe brad creau deseori probleme pentru c puteau uor s aprind pomul. De aceea, nu de puine ori, un servitor tnr, narmat cu o prjin n a crui vrf era un burete umed, sttea lng pom, pregtit s previn nenorocirea. Felicitrile de Crciun Sir Henrz Cole, un om ocupat, plin de energie i inventiv, i-a dat seama c nu poate s trimit felicitri de Crciun scrise de mn tuturor membrilor familiei sale numeroase. n 1843 l-a rugat pe un membru al Academiei Regale s-i deseneze o felicitare de Crciun. Cole a comandat la tipografie 1000 de felicitri litografiate pe carton i pictate de mn. Dei nu au avut succes chiar de la nceput, pn in anii 1860 felicitrile de Crciun au ajuns s fie de mare succes. Prima felicitare a lui Cole reprezenta o familie fericit, i pe ambele pri imagini cu oameni sraci pentru a atrage atenia asupra celor nevoiai. Mesajul scris era urmtorul: Un Crciun i un An Nou Fericit! o formulare ce s-a pstrat de atunci. Globurile de Crciun Aproximativ cu o sut de ani n urm, nite sticlari din Boemia, fiind la voie-bun la sfritul zilei, au fcut concurs s vad cine poate s fac cel mai mare balon de sticl. Dup terminarea concursului le-au aruncat, dar soiile lor le-au dus la trgurile locale de Crciun unde le-au vndut ca pe nouti. Le-au numit glob nsufleit, i se spunea c deochiul nu se prinde de casa n care atrna.

Pomul de Crciun

Pomul care era venerat iniial a fost stjarul. Misionarii cretini din Germania au reuit s schimbe obiectul veneraiei pgne, stejarul, cu bradul. Cu forma sa triunghilar, bradul l simbolizeaz pe Dumnezeu Tatl la vrf i pe Dumnezeu Fiul i Dumnezeu Spiritul n cele dou puncte de la baz. Primul pom de Crciun a fost adus n Anglia din Germania n 1846 de ctre Prinul Albert, Soul Reginei Victoria. Ghirlande de Crciun ntrebuinarea ghirlandelor pot fi urmarite in decursul istoriei inca din Roma antic. Din obiceiurile lor in srbtorirea Anului Nou fceau parte i oferirea codourilor. Iniial erau crengi de brad ce simbolizau o gospodrie mbelugat n anul ce avea s vin. Pentru a le face mai frumoase obinuiau s le ndoaie ntr-o coroni sau ntr-o ghirland. Azi, dac dorim s urmm tradiia roman, ar trebui s atrnm doar o ghirland ce ne-a fost druit de ctre altcineva. Vsc Vscul era o plant special pentru druizi, care credeau c acesta pstreaz viu spiritul stejarului pe care cretea. Se zicea c vscul alung vrjile i farmecele, printre alte numeroase puteri magice pe care se credea c le-ar fi avut. O a cu vsc atrnat n cas alung spiritele rele. Srutul sub vsc e un obicei Britanic. La nceput n locul vscului putea fi orice alt plant din jurul unei reprezentri a Sfintei Familii. Oricine vizita casa n perioada Crciunului era obligatoriu mbriat de cum trecea pragul pentru a demonstra c, de sfintele srbtori, oricine era iubit cretinete. Yultide Yultide (perioada Crciunului) e o srbtoare Viking din antichitate ce avea loc n miezul iernii, srbtoare ce preamrea naterea Soarelui i care presupunea o serie de ritualuri menite s redetepte natura i s nceap un nou an. La apariia cretinismului n nordul Europei, naterea Soarelui a ajuns s fie nlocuit cu naterea lui Christos. Mo Crciun i Sfntul Nicolae n antichitate oamenilor le era team de forele naturii. Iarna nsemna o mulime de greuti pentru ei. Pentru a o convinge s fie mai blnd, ei se mbrcau astfel nct s reprezinte Gerul i s-l primeasc pe ct posibil mai bine. Britanicii au preluat acest obicei i l-au numit Btrnul Ger, Btrnul Crciun sau Mo Crciun. Mult mai trziu el a ajuns s fie confundat (la Britanici i n special la Americani) cu Sfntul Nicolae. Cu mult timp n urm Mo Crciun era mbrcat n tot felul de culori. n anii 30, firma Coca-Cola a hotrt s se foloseasc de imaginea Sfntului Nicolae n campaniile sale publicitare, iar culorile folosite au fost cele oficiale ale firmei Coca-Cola, rou i alb. Numele de Santa Claus n limba Englez vine de la numele Sfntului Nicole din olandez, i anume Sinterklaas. Sfntul Nicolae a fost Episcop n Myra, n Asia Mic, n secolul al IV-lea. Era bogat i obinuia s-i ajute pe alii. Se spune despre el c i fcea plcere s dea bani nevoiailor, dar fiindc era o persoan retras, rmnea anonim. ntr-o zi, s-a urcat pe acoperiul casei unei familii srace a unor fete i a lsat s cad pe horn n jos o pung cu bani. Punga a picat n osetele pe care fetele le-au pus la uscat lng foc. A devenit tradiie ca, n amintirea sa, daruri s fie oferite n ajunul srbtorii de Sfntul Nicolae, pe ase Decembrie. Americanii au ataat imaginii lui Mo Crciun o sanie cu nou reni: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.