Christmas is not held by the clutches of the religion, but there are many different ways in which the Christians celebrate Christmas. These religious customs have their origin from older times and from older communities.
But, even in such different ways of celebrations, there exists a basic skeleton of the celebration of this sacred season which starts from the fourth Sunday before Christmas day which is December 25 till the Epiphany on January 6.
The Advent
As the name indicates ( meaning “Coming” in Latin) , it is the day that makes the people prepare for the advent of the great son of God. People used to clean their homes and place wreaths on the corners of their homes, mostly without decorating it.
They will light candles, in their own ways each Sunday starting from the fourth Sunday that comes before the Christmas day. This tradition is said to be adopted by us from German Lutherans.
The tradition of celebrating advent is to meditate about the coming of the Jesus in three times of our life, which are, first is when he came to the world about 2000 years ago, second is at present where Jesus wants to come into our life, Third is when he comes again as the King.
The origin of the advent dates back at least before 550 years where monks used to fast as a preparation of them to receive Jesus in all the three aforesaid ways.
The two main ways of counting the advent days are Advent calendars which have around 24 openings and Advent candles which are lit every Sundays preceding Christmas day from the start of advent.
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or the entire day that precedes the Christmas day
Christmas Eve is being celebrated in a variety of ways by various communities inside Christianity, but the most common way practiced by the Roman Catholics is by Midnight mass which is the only celebration which is allowed to start after sunset in the religion.
Protestant Christians celebrate Christmas Eve with candlelight services on the evening of December 24th.
It is the day when the Christmas tree is brought to the home and been decorated.
Apart from this when we hear the word Christmas Eve what comes to our thought is Santa. Santa is a Nobel character which comes from Saint Nicholas from Washington.
The things everyone should do without fail in the eve are, to watch Christmas movies with loved ones, leave food for Santa, open gifts, singing Christmas carols, listen to Christmas music.
Christmas Day
The Christmas day is celebrated on December 25th of every year, ever since the Roman emperor, Constantine celebrated it on 336AD.
The people celebrates the Christmas day by visiting relatives and friends houses, exchanging gifts and sweets, Praying and singing in their home with family members, having dinner with the loved ones.
It is notable that some people offer shelter and food for the people who have no family or money to be happy on the auspicious day of the year.
Exchange of Gifts
The tradition of exchanging gifts among the men is said to be derived from ancient Roman customs of exchanging gifts to bring good fortune and happiness in the life of others.
There is also a view that the gifts exchange has its roots from the biblical point of view that the great men gave gifts to the baby Jesus when they visited the baby.
When we think of gifts on Christmas, the very first thing that strikes our mind is the Santa Claus. The children will be surprised by the gifts the Santa character gives them, which is but originally given by their parents.
Conclusion
There are a variety of religious traditions and practices for celebrating the Glorious advent of the Son of God to this world. But, the only thing that everyone should understand is that God sent his Son to have all his Children saved from not only from evils but also from seclusion among themselves by uniting them on this auspicious day.
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