Everything there is to know about Christmas

These days, Christmas has become a holiday enjoyed by everyone around the world regardless of religion. When people look at the twinkling Christmas lights, they forget about their exhausting daily routines, ponder the meaning of love and gratitude. Over time, Christmas became the time of the year when everyone is filled with happiness and everything is joyful. I could not help but become curious to learn more about Christmas, and I found out that stories about Christmas had their roots in history and culture. Let’s take a closer look at some of these stories, while Santa takes gifts out of his bag.
Article: Editor’s Office

When did people begin to celebrate Christmas, and why is it December 25th?

Christmas is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, but this is not precisely supported by scripture. However, ever since Pope Julius I declared December 25th as the official date of the birth of Jesus, most Christians have been celebrating that day as the birthday of Jesus. There are two theories as to why this day was chosen, and one of them has to do with an ancient Roman festival. Ancient Rome celebrated a winter solstice festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of see sowing, to mark the end of autumn, and also to Mitra, the god of the sun. It is said that the Roman festival expanded and later became replaced with Christmas.

Who is Santa Claus and why does he supposedly come down the chimney to deliver presents?

To discover the origin of Santa Claus, whom everyone gets super excited about during Christmas time, you first have to understand who is Nicholas, a monk who lived in the third century. St. Nicholas, who was born in Patara, KLycia, which is part of modern-day Turkey. He was later referred to as St. Nicholas for his piety and kindness as he spent his entire life looking after the sick and poor. It is believed that the word Santa Claus, used in the United States, is actually derived from Sinter Klass, which is St. Nicholas in the Dutch language. St. Nicholas also threw gold coins down the chimneys of the poor at night, for he did not want others to know about his good deeds, and the coins just happened to fall into socks hanging on the wall. This is why people started hanging socks for gifts every Christmas.

How was Rudolph created?

It was 1939 when Rudolph was first introduced to the world via a book published by Montgomery Ward, a mail-order business and department store. The author who was also an employee working for the department store, Robert Lewis May, put everything into writing his book for his wife who was fighting cancer at the time and his sad daughter. The copyright to the story of Rudolf was originally owned and registered by Montgomery Ward, but later on they gave it to Robert Lewis May. Then around 10 years later, his sister’s husband, Johnny Marks sang a song about Rudolph, which ran to the top to the Billboard Charts in 1949. So, that’s how Rudolph came to be known as one of the most beloved symbols of Christmas!

What is the greatest Christmas carol of all time that help turn on the Christmas mood?

Do you know what was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot-100 songs chart as of December 19, 2020? It was Mariah Carey’s 1994 carol, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” The song has always been a popular carol and ranked No. 2 among the 10-best Christmas songs ever according to a website in the USA in 2017. The song that ranked first was “Jingle Bell Rock” released and sung by Bobby Helms back in October 1957. This song should be especially familiar as it was also a soundtrack of , also an all-time favorite Christmas movie.

Why do people refer to Christmas by the abbreviated “X-mas”?

We often use X-mas as a common abbreviation of Christmas. The word Christmas comes from a combination of Christus, Latin for Christ, and Massa, meaning celebration or an event. So basically, it means an event celebrating Christ’s birth. And the X in X-mas is not an English alphabet. It’s the first letter from the word XPIΣTOΣ, which means Christ in Greek. That should help you understand why Christmas came to be spelled sometimes as X-mas.

Is there a way to exchange letters with Santa?

Yes. There is a village that is filled with letters from all around the world in December each year. The village I’m referring to is Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland, or in other words, Santa Claus’s hometown. The post office of Finland began providing postal services with its “Santa mail project.” Employees working for the Santa Claus Main Post Office wrote back to the writers of the letters they received. Surprisingly, there is even a Santa Claus Post Office in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, Korea. If the letter you sent to Santa was registered in the Office in Korea by the end of October, you should be able to receive a reply from Santa during the Christmas season. Now you no longer need to be upset that it is already November, because you will be able to receive a reply next Christmas if you send a letter now. The address of the Santa Claus Post Office located in Korea is “10 Sansuhwa-ro, Hwacheon-eup, Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, South Korea.”

When was Christmas designated as a national holiday in Korea?

It is said that Christmas was first introduced in Korea by a Protestant missionary in 1884. Back then, the missionaries were the only ones celebrating Christmas in Korea, but it then became known among our people as well due to Christmas events held at Paichai Hakdang and Jeongdong Chapel. It soon became so well-known among people that an article about Christmas was published in The Independent in 1887. During the Japanese colonial period, the Governor-General of Chosen banned all Christmas events, but Christmas soon became a national holiday imposed by the United States military government after the Japanese rule over Korea ended in 1945. And then Rhee Syngman, Korea’s first president who was a Christian, officially designated December 25th as a national holiday in 1949.

When did people begin to decorate Christmas trees?

On Christmas Eve, a minister in Germany became mesmerized by the breathtaking light shining through coniferous branches while he was walking in the forest. To reenact what he saw, he cut down trees and hung candles on the branches after bringing it home. Christians later on began imitating what this minister did, and decorating Christmas trees became a popular trend. The name of the carpenter was Martin Luther, known today as a leader of the Reformation. There is another story on the origin of Christmas trees. It is said that ancient Romans brought back home evergreen branches they had cut and decorated them.

Why do we also celebrate Christmas Eve?

Surprisingly enough, we also celebrate the day before Christmas as well as Christmas. Traditionally, it was thought that each old day ended and each new day began at sunset. This is why December 24th came to be celebrated as Christmas Eve. Here, the word Eve is short for evening. When considering that Christmas Eve was the only day in an entire year that Korea’s dictatorial government back then lifted its curfew, we can know how special Christmas Eve was in Korea.

How do people around the world say “Merry Christmas” in their own languages?

Merry Christmas is the most famous and preferred greeting around the world at Christmas. Koreans often say “I hope you have a wonderful Christmas” and those in Spain would say “Feliz Navidad, while the French say “Joyeux Noel,” the Germans say “Frohe Weinachten,” and the Italians say “Buon Natale. The Chinese say “圣诞节快乐”. As you can see, the greetings might all be different, but the meanings are mostly similar.