Special report

I read this magazine took it from Jusco.

-When did Christmas originate?
Deriving from the Old English 'Cristes Maesse' meaning the ''mass of Christ'',the Christmas story begins with the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.Although the exact month is unknown,it is believe that Christ was born on the 25th day in 300AD,the birthday of Jesus was determinde to be on Decenber 25.

-How is the Poinsettia flower related to Christmas?
Named after America's first ambassador to Mexico,Joel Poinsett who brought the plants to America in 1828,the poinsettia or Christmas flower is native to Mexico.
The Mexican in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem,which shone over the stable where Jesus was born.

-What does the candy cane Symbolise?
Around 1900's,candy began to be decorated with red stripes and bent into shape of a cane.One legend that is often told about the candy cane relates its origin to candy maker in the late 1800's in Indiana who wanted express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy.

He came up with an idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a candy cane to symbolise Christ's love and sacrifice.

First,he used a plain white peppermint stick to symbolise the purity and sinless nature of Jesus.Next,he added three small red stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before his death on the cross.He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind.The bent part on top was to look like a shepherd's staff because Jesus is called the shepherd of man,and turned upside down,it becomes a letter ''J'' symbolizing the first letter in Jesus name.
The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas,so everyone would remeber what Christmas is all about.


-How did Christmas become X'mas?
The abbrevation ''Xristos''is the Greek transliteration of the word Christ.During the 16th century,educated Europeans began using the first initial of Christ name, ''X' in place of the word Christ in Christmas,with 'X' often symbolizing a cross.
Although the early Christians understood that he 'X' stodd for Christ's name,later Christians whod did not understand the Greek language mistook ''Xmas'' as a sign of disrespect or commercialism.

Cleary,there are lots of interesting Christmas traditions that are practiced by different countries all over the world during the holiday season.And as we've seen,these traditions can be as diverse as the culture and religious practices of each and every nation.

However varied the traditions,though,one thing about Christmas remains the same everywhere-it's a time of reflection,of giving and celebrating life.Regardless of how it all began or how is celebrated,it stand as a reminder to Christians of how much God loves the world.And that love,essentially,is what Christmas is all about.