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Welcome to Santa's Secret Village
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The Declaration of Christmas Peace has been a tradition in Finland from the Middle Ages every year, except in 1939 (due to World War II). The declaration takes place in the Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City and former capital. It is broadcast on Finnish radio and television. Sauna bathing has an important role in Finnish Christmas, often after the visit of Joulupukki on Christmas Eve.
Saint Nicholas' Day remains the principal day for gift giving in the Netherlands while Christmas Day is a more religious holiday.
In Russia, Grandfather Frost brings presents on New Year's Eve, and these are opened on the same night. However, after the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebration was banned in that country from 1917 until 1992. Even today, throughout the U.S. and Europe, several Christian denominations, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses, Puritans, and some fundamentalists, view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible.
In many countries, businesses, schools, and communities have Christmas parties and dances in the weeks before Christmas. Christmas pageants may include a retelling of the story of the birth of Christ. Groups may visit neighborhood homes to sing carols. Others do volunteer work or hold fundraising drives for charities.
On Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, a special meal is usually served. In some regions, particularly in Eastern Europe, these family feasts are preceded by a period of fasting. Candy and treats are also part of Christmas celebration in many countries.
Another tradition is for people to send cards to their friends and family members. The traditional greeting phrase on these cards is "Merry Christmas". Cards are also produced with messages such as "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays", so as to include senders and recipients who may not celebrate Christmas .Comment
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Christmas on the Net -Features recipes, an animation, music, coloring pages, and articles.
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Every year around this time a debate flares up among the Iranian Diaspora as to whether we should display Christmas trees in our houses. The issue is discussed ad-nauseam on talk-radio shows and at parties and gatherings. Everyone has their own opinion about this potentially touchy subject. Some favor doing "as Romans do" and advocate displaying the biggest tree befitting the confines of their domiciles. Others consider this an outright act of sacrilege and remind their Moslem brethren (and sistren) that we, as Moslems, should not honor these ridiculous rites of the infidels.
I think the displaying of a Christmas tree should not have any bearing on whether one considers Jesus as one's lord and savior or even believes in the Holly Ghost and the Trinity. (What is the Trinity, anyway? Is monotheism in peril?)
A tree is a tree. It means nothing and it proves nothing. When all is said and done, one is left with nothing but dried up needles on the floor and a bulky trash item to be gotten rid of.
A Christmas tree display will not cause me to send my kids to Sunday school, nor will it compel me to stock up on choice cuts of pork. It will not cause me to give a third of my net income to the neighborhood church. It will neither increase nor decrease my viewing time of Benny Hinn performing his miracles on TV. It will not persuade me to raise all kinds of hell during the week and then go to church on Sundays to get an instant morality carwash because Jesus died for my sins.
For God's sake, we have enough history and tradition to render us immune to influences like this. Christian missionaries have been active in our neck of the woods for hundreds of years and the number of converts they have so far produced is ridiculously low. I don't believe we are in any danger folks.
A friend of mine legitimizes his tree display by tracing most of the Christian rites and rituals to Mithraism and the Mithraic cults of old Rome, and therefore claims to be celebrating the birth of Mithra, which, coincidentally, happens to fall on Christmas.
I say if it makes the kids happy, if it helps them to be less conspicuous at school, if it helps them to fit in, let's do it for them. Let's give them gifts for Christmas, for Hanukah, for Kwanza, and for the Persian New Year. Don't forget that the Persians were famous for their celebrations and feasts. Let's not forget that the Arab's word for "celebration" or "festival" is "mehrejan". Where do you think that came from?Comment
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The Nativity
The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. The birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, and the infant Jesus was laid in a manger. Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth.
Remembering or re-creating the Nativity is one of the central ways that Christians celebrate Christmas. The Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, while much of the Western Church celebrates Advent. In some Christian churches, children perform plays re-telling the events of the Nativity, or sing carols that reference the event. Many Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a Nativity scene, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event. Live Nativity scenes are also performed in some areas, using actors and live animals to portray the event with more realism.
Nativity scenes traditionally include the Three Wise Men, Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, who are said to have followed the Star of Bethlehem, found Jesus, and presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
In the U.S., Christmas decorations at public buildings once commonly included Nativity scenes. This practice has led to many lawsuits, as some say it amounts to the government endorsing a religion. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a city-owned Christmas display, even one with a Nativity scene, does not violate the First Amendment.Comment
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in ax akhariye kadoyee bood be ghazvinihaye mohtaram ???!!?
MAHSA
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