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In Australia, the holiday comes in the middle of summer--it`s not unusual for some parts of Australia to hit 100 degrees Farenheit on Christmas day. In Sydney, thousands of families prepare their Christmas dinner and take it to Bondi Beach for a picnic. Australians decorate with Christmas Bushes, plants with little red-flowered leaves that are native to Australia (Src: thehistoryofchristmas.com).
Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25--Christmas Day--has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870 (Src: history.com).There are very few people in the world today who do not know what the Christmas holiday is all about. Christmas, as we know it today, is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which happened over 2000 years ago. The word “Christmas” translates to “Mass Of Christ”. However, we can all be sure that the celebration of the Christmas holiday did not start right away. So how did the actual celebration of the Christmas holiday begin?
Believe it or not, many of the traditions that we observe during the Christmas holiday season began way before the birth of Christ. Exchanging gifts, decorating trees, and the burning of the Yule log were all winter traditions that began before Christ was born, but were eventually incorporated into the holiday that became known as Christmas, and became part of Christmas history.
Over 4000 years ago, the Mesopotamians celebrated each new year with a 12-day festival, called Zagmuth. The Mesopotamians, who believed in many gods, held this festival in support of their chief god, Marduk, because they believed that he battled the monsters of chaos at the beginning of each winter. It is from this festival that the 12 days of Christmas is believed to have originated.
The ancient Romans held a celebration each year in honor of their god Saturn. The festival, which they called Saturnalia, began in the middle of December and lasted until the first of January. The Romans decorated their homes with garlands, as well as trees upon which they hung candles. During the festival the citizens of Rome would visit each other’s homes and hold great feasts. One of the theories of how the tradition of the giving of Christmas gifts came about was from the Roman practice of exchanging gifts between family and neighbors during the festival of Saturnalia to promote good luck. (Src: historyofchristmas.net).
So, because it is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus in the one hand and exchanging gifts and visiting loved ones in the other hand, we would then offer you great gift ideas for this Christmas 2010. Something that is very unique that came from an ancient culture of North Africa called "Berber", you can buy online or come to our shop at 62 Enmore Road Newtown NSW, Australia. You can choose from Genuine Berber Rugs, Moroccan Tagines/Tajines, Algerian Moroccan poufs, Algerian Coral Jewellery, Tuareg Jewellery, Moroccan Lanterns, Algerian ceramic with 12 carat liquid gold, leather handbags, silverware and homeware, and much more.Merry Christmas and happy New Year 2011 from
berberosaharan.com`s team.