Essay on Christmas

How many times have you thought as a child that tonight the Santa Claus will come and give gifts to you? Many times you may actually receive them although they are presents from your family. Such is the craze of Santa Claus and the gifts, Christmas trees associated with the festival of Christmas. It is a festival which attracts people of all faith towards it. Being one of those festivals which is widely celebrated all over the world, it is important for us to know about this festival we call Christmas. It does have a history to it along with some marked traditions which go along with it. In order to make students aware of all this, we have come up with long essays for students which shall enlighten them more about this festival.

List of Essays on Christmas in English

Essay on Christmas – Essay 1 (250 Words)

Christmas is celebrated every year on 25th December. It is mainly the festival of Christians. But in today’s time, the festival of Christmas has surpassed the religious boundaries and become a symbol of the holistic culture. The winters in December carry a festive feeling.

Usually, the celebration begins much before the main day and continues for around 2 weeks after that. Men and women celebrate Christmas to honor the birth of Jesus Christ. Religious people go to church and light the candles to pray to their God, Jesus Christ.

A festival that is equally loved and cherished by adults and kids. People also bring a Christmas tree to their homes and decorate it with colorful balls, ribbons, and red socks. Market shops and showrooms display a theme of glittering red and white colors to set up the Christmas mood.

On Christmas night, folks enjoy a big feast and share gifts with each other. Homemade traditional plum cakes, cupcakes, and muffins are the special treats on Christmas. Kids are showered with lots of presents and new dresses. They also get to meet the ‘Santa Claus’, dressed in a fluffy red and white costume, who greets them with hugs and gifts.

Christmas is a festival of joy. It is about sharing and helping others. On this day, people remember Jesus Christ and his lessons of life. The festival definitely teaches us to practice kindness and love toward each other and help those who have less than us.

Essay on Christmas: Origin, Importance and Conclusion – Essay 2 (400 Words)

Introduction:

Christmas is the season of joy, peace, and happiness. It is the special season set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Though this was its original purpose, the celebration of Christmas has grown to become a symbolic time for living in peace and love.

Christmas is essentially a reminder of why we should stick to the deepest parts of our humanity. That is, through celebration, we are reminded that we should share, give to the less privileged, spend time with loved ones and have a positive outlook about life in general.

Origin of Christmas:

Many people assume Christmas is strictly a Christian celebration and they would be right if modern evidence is to be considered. However, with regards to its origin, this notion cannot be farther from the truth. In actual sense, Christmas originated a few decades after the birth of Jesus in the old Roman Empire.

Christmas emanated as the Pagan celebration of the concept known as Saturnalia. This celebration was aimed at celebrating the return of the sun and the end of winter. The celebration is usually a weeklong affair and is marked by lawless activity and a system of penal exemption from lawless acts such as housing breaking.

In the 4^th century, Christians adapted the last day of Saturnalia to be the celebration of Christmas. The aim was to get the pagans to associate this period with positive things. Consequently, lots of pagans converted to Christianity on the promise that they could still celebrate their tradition in this day. Whether Jesus was actually born on the 25 of December is not substantiated by historical evidence.

Importance of Christmas:

Why do we celebrate Christmas? Why do we go the extra mile to celebrate, give and create an atmosphere of merriment? The answers to these questions are numerous but we would mention a few.

1. Christmas reminds us of the importance of giving and sharing with friends and family.

2. Christmas shows the importance of joy and happiness.

3. Through Christmas, we know that Jesus birth is the beginning of great things in the world.

4. It is also an opportunity to correct actions we aren’t proud of in our lives.

5. It is generally an opportunity to think about nature and the reason for our existence.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re Christian or not, Christmas is an opportunity for you to put your biases and ill thought behind in the celebration of a great cause.

Essay on Christmas – Essay 3 (500 Words)

Christmas is a well-known Christian holiday set in December, celebrated the world over and famed for its decorations and Santa Clause. Christmas is celebrated on the 25^th of December, on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ. One can write for ages about the many wonders that Christmas inspires in people. This holiday is also famous for the different customs that are associated with it and even though Christmas is celebrated in all Christian countries there are differences in the way each nation commemorates this date.

Christmas Traditions:

One of the more famous symbols of this holiday is the Christmas tree. Most people do not think about it and just maintain that this custom has been around for ages, while in fact, it is in use for the past 150 years. The idea originated in Germany and later on, it was spread to the rest of the western world by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This event was meant for the entire family to enjoy a day before the 25^th of December.

The famous Santa Clause celebrated in many movies and made famous by Coca-Cola commercials is actually Saint Nicholas and he is traditionally celebrated on the 6^th of December. The Santa goes around town and checks if all the children were good and if they were, he left them a present, but if a child misbehaved often the Krampus would come to punish them by leaving a whip for the parents. This myth was taken on by the movie industry and transformed into the white beard and red-coated child hero of today.

Traditionally Christmas is celebrated by a Church mass in the morning and then by a family meal later on in the day. That is if you are a religious person, otherwise, most people have some sort of Christmas dinner where they sing the appropriate songs and drink special drinks, somewhere its egg- nock and in other places its sweetened cooked red wine. Whatever the tradition the point of the holiday is to spend some quality time with your loved ones eating and resting.

Modern Christmas:

Christmas is also famous as the time of the year when we give gifts to each other and appropriately this is also the time when companies try to sell everything they can. Marketing experts know how to use the traditional symbols of Christmas to make you want to buy something that you do not actually need. Not to mention that every gift that Santa brings has to be bought somewhere and every child wants a visit from their favorite imagined gift giver. The consumer society has transformed this holiday and made it part of its cosmology, the basic elements are still here but everything is set around decoration, gifts, and movies.

Whatever the backdrop of the holiday it still remains one of the coziest times of the year, at least form me. Spending time at home with the people we love, embraced, watching movies and surrounded by flickering lights is the image I have in my head when I think about Christmas. This is also an image that brings warmth to my heart.

Essay on Christmas: A Cultural Festivity – Essay 4 (600 Words)

Introduction:

Christmas is a Christian holiday that is celebrated all over the world on December 25^th. Christmas is the time of the year when people commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a cultural festivity that brings families together in a celebratory mood. Every Christian loves Christmas because it is full of joy, full of gifts, family gets together and beautiful Christmas carols are sang all over.

Preparations for Christmas:

Christmas is a cultural festivity that entails a lot of preparations. It is a public holiday and so people get a Christmas break to celebrate it. Preparations for Christmas start early for most people so that celebrations begin on the eve of Christmas. Preparations for Christmas involves a lot of activities.

Plans on who you are spending the Christmas together must be made before any preparations begin because you want to be considerate on their preferences and way of doing things. Shopping for Christmas is done as art of the preparations and people usually buy decorations, food and gifts mostly for children in the family and friends. Some families shop for matching Christmas outfits for everyone.

The common preparations include decorations of the place with Christmas trees, lighting. Before decorations begin, the house must be deep cleaned. The Christmas tree brings the Christmas spirit in homes because it is all glittery and shiny with all the decorations. Presents are placed under the Christmas tree in wrapped gift boxes and are not to be opened till Christmas day.

Churches and Sunday schools make their own preparations for Christmas through practicing songs and skits to be performed on Christmas day. The songs and skits are usually about the stories of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Bible. The church is also decorated for the special event. Thorough cleaning of the churches is also done to usher in Christmas.

Travel plans are also made for families and friend who would lie to spend their Christmas holiday in a nice place. People usually spend a lot on Christmas and so saving money for these plans should be the earliest preparation among all these.

As tradition for most families across the world, turkey is the common meal. Turkey orders have to be made early to avoid missing on the traditional Christmas meal. Christmas cards are also written to friends and family to wish them a happy holiday and to show love.

What happens on Christmas Eve?

Activities done on the Christmas Eve are still preparations. Christmas dinner is prepared, the tables are set, and gifts that had not been wrapped are wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree. Families come together in a Christmas spirit and share in the spirit of Christmas and the excitement for the day that is to come.

What happens on Christmas day?

The activities on Christmas day are usually few because everything was prepared in advance. The day begins with a countdown at 11:59 pm at night whereby people shout in celebration when it gets to 12:00 midnight. Christmas carols are played on radios and televisions to mark the day. Most families start by going to church where performances and songs are done. Then later, they join their families to exchange gifts and celebrate with food and music. Happiness during Christmas is like no other.

During exchange of gifts, children believe that they are from Santa Claus. Santa Claus or Father Christmas is a figure originating from the western Christian culture who is believed to bring gifts to disciplined children during Christmas. Children tend to behave well as they anticipate gifts from Santa.

In conclusion, Christmas is basically the best time of the year for both children and adults.

Essay on Christmas – Essay 5 (750 Words)

Christmas is a yearly celebration marking Jesus Christ’s birth; it is observed on the 25^th of December as a cultural and religious celebration among a lot of people all over the world. Christmas is basically a short form for Christ’s mass. It is gotten from the word ‘cristmasse’ which is a Middle English word gotten from the old English word, a phrase that was first heard around 1038. Apart from Christmas, the day and holiday has also been called by some other names like midwinter, nativity and so on.

The history of Christmas is one that dates back to a very long time; the first Christmas that was celebrated was done in 336 in Rome. It played a very important role during the famed Arian controversy that took place in the 300s. During the early years of the middle age, epiphany overshadowed it. Christmas was brought back to limelight around 800 when the emperor Charlemagne received the crown on Christmas day.

During the 17^th century, the Puritans had Christmas banned because it was associated with drunkenness and different other misbehaviour. It was made a proper holiday around 1660 but was still quite disreputable. Around the early 1900s, the Oxford movement of the Anglican Communion church started and this led to the revival of Christmas. A lot of writers including Charles Dickens did their best to reinvent Christmas through emphasising it as being a period for family, gift giving, religion and social reconciliation as against the historically common revelry it was known for.

Christmas is celebrated as a key festival in a lot of countries all over the world and some of the countries are countries with a non-Christian population. In a lot of the non-Christian regions, the celebration of Christmas is largely influenced by the colonial rule like in Hong Kong, in some other regions; the celebration of Christmas is due to cultural influence of other foreign nations. There are some countries where Christmas isn’t celebrated and there is no public holiday, examples of such countries are Israel, Afghanistan, North Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Bhutan, Vietnam, Turkey, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, etc.

There are parades and religious processions in countries that are majorly catholic in the days before Christmas. In regions that are largely secular, there are also parades that feature the Santa Claus and some other seasonal characters. A very important feature of Christmas all over the world is the act of gift sharing and giving that takes place on the day of Christmas, there are a few countries that practice the act of gift giving and gift sharing on January 6 and also on Saint Nicholas Day.

There is the practice of special decoration being put up during Christmas and this practice has a very long history. In London around the 15^th century, it was the tradition for every home and church building to be decorated with items that were judged to be green and worthy of the season including ivy, holm and bays. The colours traditionally for Christmas are gold, red and green. Red is said to symbolise Jesus’ blood that he shed during the crucifixion, green stands for eternal life, and especially the tree that is evergreen and doesn’t lose the leaves on it during winter, the very first colour associated with Christmas is gold as it was one of the gifts that the magi gave Jesus and it symbolises royalty.

A special family Christmas meal is also a very traditionally important feature of Christmas celebration, and the type of food served depends on the country and varies from region to region. The United Kingdom with the countries that have been influenced by its culture and traditions have a proper meal for Christmas that includes goose, turkey or any other big bird, potatoes, gravy, bread, vegetables and cider. There are also unique desserts that are prepared during Christmas including Yule log cake, mince pies, Christmas pudding and fruit cake. It is important to note that in most eastern European countries like Poland and in the Scandinavia, the main traditional course is fish but there has been an increase in the use of richer meat like lamb.

Christmas card are greeting messages in form of illustrations that family members and friends exchanges during the Christmas period. Traditionally, Christmas greeting cards was first produced for commercial purpose in London around 1843 by a Sir Henry Cole. Christmas is probably the most beautiful time of the year with family, love and gift giving the theme of the season.

Essay on Christmas: History, Celebrations and Decorations – Essay 6 (1000 Words)

Introduction:

Christmas is a yearly festival which is celebrated on the birth of Jesus Christ, on December 25 by most people in the world. A few parts of Eastern Christians use the Julian system which marks it on January 7 on the Gregorian calendar, which is December 25 as indicated by their calendar. Armenian Churches have been celebrating Christmas on January 6 even before the Gregorian calendar started. Most Armenian Christians still use the Gregorian calendar and observe Christmas on January 6. In spite of all the controversies around the date, Christmas is regarded as a religious and social festival among the people all over the world. It is the major Christian festival of the year.

History:

The Nativity accounts of Matthew and Luke are noticeable in the accounts and early Christian authors recommended different dates for the start of this festival. The first recorded Christmas festivity was in Rome in the year 336. Christmas assumed a job in the Arian debate of the fourth century. In the early Middle Ages, it was dominated by Epiphany. However, it regained its popularity after the year 800, when Charlemagne was delegated as the head on Christmas Day.

Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been received generally in the common calendars used by nations all through the world. Be that as it may, some Eastern Christian Churches observe this festival on December 25 of the more seasoned Julian timetable, which right now relates to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. This isn’t a difference over the date of Christmas all things considered, but instead, an inclination of which schedule should be used to decide the day that is December 25. In the Council of Tours of 567, the Church, with its craving to be general announced the twelve days among Christmas and Epiphany to be one bound together festal cycle.

Celebrations:

Christmas Day is associated with a number of celebrations all over the world including numerous people who are generally non-Christian. In some non-Christian regions, times of previous provincial guideline presented the festival such as Hong Kong. In others, Christian minorities or remote social impacts have driven people to celebrate this festival. Nations, for example, Japan, where Christmas is prevalent in spite of there being just a few Christians, have embraced huge numbers of the common parts of Christmas, for example, present giving, decorations, and Christmas trees.

Countries which do not celebrate It:

Countries in which Christmas is certainly not a formal festival include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates among others. However, with the changing times, even people from these countries have started to celebrate this festival.

Christmas in India:

India has a substantial population of Christians. Moreover, being a secular country, festivals of all religions are celebrated with equal charm and anxiety. Christmas is not different from festivals celebrated in India. People from all religions and faith celebrate it. Schools organise special assemblies in order to make children aware of the importance of this festival. People decorate their homes and give gifts to children.

Decorations:

The activity of decorating the trees on this day has a long history. In the fifteenth century, it was recorded that in London it was the custom at Christmas for each house and all the area temples to be “decked with holm, coves and ivy which at all the period of the year stood to be green”. The heart-moulded leaves of ivy were said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, while holly was viewed as a defence against witches. Its red berries and thistles represent the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus at the execution and the blood he shed.

The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the sixteenth century, with records demonstrating that such a tree was put in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the administration of the Protestant Reformer, Martin Bucer. The Moravians put lit candles on those trees. When finishing the Christmas tree, numerous people put a star at the highest point of the tree symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, a reality recorded by The School Journal in 1897.

In the nineteenth century, it wound up prominent for individuals to likewise place an angel on the top of a tree. This was intended to symbolize the angels referenced in the records of the Nativity of Jesus. The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of agnostic convention and custom surrounding the Winter Solstice, which combined the use of evergreen limbs, and an adjustment of agnostic tree worship.

Traditional Cuisine:

Depending on the regions, there are different traditional cuisines on this day. A few regions have exceptional suppers for Christmas Eve, for example, Sicily, where 12 sorts of fish are served. In the United Kingdom and nations impacted by its customs, a standard dinner incorporates turkey, goose or other expansive flying creature, sauce, potatoes, vegetables, now and again bread and juice. Extraordinary treats are likewise arranged, for example, pudding, mince pies, nutty surprise and Yule log cake

Santa Claus:

Santa Claus is one of the key parts of the celebrations of Christmas. As per the legend, Santa Claus gives gifts to good children on the eve of Christmas which is the night of the 24^th December. Children sleep early on this day hoping to get a gift from Santa Claus when they get up the next morning. They also keep cookies and milk near their beds for the Santa and a carrot for the reindeer of the Santa on which he rides as a part of the tradition. The popular poem Jingle Bells celebrates the coming of Santa to give away the gifts.

Conclusion:

Christmas is such a festival which is celebrated by people from all religions and faith worldwide despite it being a Christian festival. It is the essence of this festival which unites the people so much. We should learn the importance of such unity from this festival and despite our religious differences; we should all celebrate the festivals together. Festivals are probably a medium which has the power to keep people united for the betterment of mankind.