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Archive for May, 2009

The real meaning of Christmas is often expressed as being about giving to
others during the season. Giving can take many forms, but during the Christmas
season the most obvious way in which giving is done is by preparing beautifully
wrapped Christmas presents for family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues,
teachers and others such as business clients.
The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is believed to have started
with the Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But
the practice of giving gifts as is common today, evolved from a retail strategy
that involved Santa Claus and attracting children into stores. For that reason,
giving gifts at Christmas and during the holidays has been centered on children.
Giving gifts during Christmas started in the early 19th century when the
celebration of Christmas was restored after a period when the Protestants in
England banned Christmas celebrations. In 1820 to 1840 when Christmas
celebrations regained popularity, stores started to advertise special Christmas
shopping promotions. At the same time, newspapers also created advertising
sections solely for holiday shopping advertisements. These special advertising
sections had prominent displays of Santa Claus.
In 1841 when a store in Philadelphia had a life-size model of Santa Claus,
hundreds of children turned up to get a look at Santa Claus, which had become a
new and popular element of revitalized Christmas celebrations. The interest in
seeing Santa Claus provided a marketing idea to retailers that they could
attract children and parents to stores through offers to have a look at a ‘real’
or ‘live’ Santa Claus. Because of that marketing strategy to attract children
during Christmas, the focus was therefore to give Christmas presents to
children.
Today, gift-giving is still focused on children, but adults are as much popular
recipients as children. Within families, the focus on children is evident in the
fact that an individual child will get more gifts than any other individual
adult member of the family. For young children, who are particularly delighted
and enchanted by the holidays and Christmas festivities, toys are usually the
gift given. Among older children, clothes and electronic gadgets are popular
items to give as Christmas gifts.
Adults are the ones however, for whom there is the widest range of items that
can be given as Christmas presents. An item that will make a good Christmas or
holiday present to just about any adult is a decadent box of chocolate or
holiday cookies. This is enjoyed even by those who are diet-conscious because,
they can be sugar- and, or, fat-free or also low in carbohydrates. At Christmas
time also, many people tend to temporarily disregard any strict diet rules that
they are following and so they welcome and enjoy any type of Christmas treats
heartily.
According to a survey done in 2004 by the National Confectioners Association, 90
percent of 1,000 adults who were surveyed responded that giving or receiving a
box of chocolates and creating or receiving a stocking filled with goodies were
among the top three ways they enjoyed candy during the winter holidays. A third
way was having candy that was placed in a dish, which indicates that having
sweet treats at Christmas time is generally enjoyed by a broad cross-section of
people.
Aside from family members and friends, it may also be a nice gesture to give a
holiday or Christmas present to colleagues at work, teachers of your children
and based on your profession, to business clients. The primary reason to give
any of those categories of people holiday or Christmas gifts is likely to
express appreciation. For that reason, a holiday present of goodies or treats
would indeed be a sweet gift to give.

The real meaning of Christmas, the season of good cheer, is about giving
especially to provide some assistance to those who need help for their daily
survival and who therefore don’t have the material resources to enjoy the
Christmas season. The importance of giving to those in need during Christmas is
embodied in the story of Jesus’ birth, which is the reason Christmas is
celebrated.
For Christians, Jesus was born to save mankind from sin by giving
everlasting Salvation to all who believe in the Word of God and chose to follow
the principles for living in the Bible. Jesus therefore gave in the ultimate way
- he offered himself as a sacrifice for every living person. Christians
therefore believe that Christmas should be about following the example of Jesus
by giving of oneself to others, especially to those who are in need.
The Christmas season should therefore be about spreading goodwill and good
cheer. This purpose of Christmas is very significant because research by social
service organizations has shown that Christmas happens to be a high time for
depression among the have-nots, among people with problems and others who just
don’t have the means and resources to enjoy the merriment of the holidays.
The hundreds of Santa letters written by children are often a sad
testament to the many unmet needs of families and individuals during the festive
Christmas and holiday times. Just about every child is told the story of Santa
Claus, or hears about him because his presence is everywhere at Christmas. And
up to the age of 7 to 8 years, most children believe the story about Santa Claus
bringing toys and other gifts. That’s the reason why so many young children
often write letters to Santa at Christmas time in which the innocently plead for
toys and other gifts because they their parents or other relatives will not be
able to give them those Christmas toys or Christmas gifts that they want.
Thankfully there are many volunteer and charitable efforts carried out by
groups and corporations that seek to fulfill the needs of children and also of
adults during the Christmas season. One of the most notable organizations that
do such charitable work is the Salvation Army, which has a history of giving
service to those in need.
According to The Salvation Army’s website, the organization as known today was
started in 1865 by a Methodist minister, William Booth and his wife Catherine.
They formed a group that preached, provided food and shelter to the homeless,
the hungry and to alcoholics in need of recovery services. The services were
provided in London’s East End. Booth and his followers, first known as ‘The
Christian Mission,’ started to use The Salvation Army name in 1878.
The Salvation Army is now uniquely associated with the Christmas season through
its many representatives who dress up as Santa Claus and stand outside retail
establishments ringing their bells while they kindly seek donations from
shoppers to help the poor at Christmas.
Individuals also play Santa Claus at Christmas time and help out those in need
by donating toys and gifts through their companies, other business enterprises
such as banks or through their local municipality. These groups usually all have
a box or an area where new toys or clothing can be dropped off and the items are
then donated to families in need or to social service providers for distribution
to the needy during the Christmas season.
Along with much charitable giving at Christmas time, other public interest
groups also work hard to inform and educate consumers about avoiding the after
Christmas blues. This is often experienced in January when the bills and debts
are due as a result of all the spending, much of it on credit, that is done for
the holidays.
These groups try to spread goodwill and cheer in a different way. They try to
provide educational information on spending responsibly during the Christmas
season with the hope that the happiness and good feeling enjoyed during the
season can also carry over after Christmas and not be spoiled by the burden of
having huge bills to pay.

Commercial activities during Christmas today are often decried as making
the season too materialistic. This has caused comments that the religious aspect
of Christmas is so overlooked and overshadowed that its celebration seems to be
purely pagan. But today’s comparisons aren’t the first there has been some link
between Christmas and pagan celebrations. As a religious, church leaders
instituted Christmas during winter because that time of year was a popular for
the celebrations of many pagan festivals. The hope was that Christmas would also
become a holiday that would gain much popularity.
Long before the birth of Jesus Christ, people in various parts of Europe would
celebrate light and birth in the darkest days of winter. The winter solstice,
when the harshest part of winter was over, was a time of celebration for many
peoples because they would look forward to more hours of sunlight during the
longer days ahead.
The Norse in Scandinavia celebrated Yule from the winter solstice on
December 21 through to January. Men brought home logs that were lighted and a
feast would take place until the log was completely burned. Each spark from the
fire was believed to represent a new pig or calf to be born in the coming new
year.
The pagan god Oden was honored by Germans during the mid-winter holiday. Oden
inspired great fear in the Germans who believed that Oden traveled at nights
through the sky to observe people and make a decision about who would perish or
prosper in life. This belief caused most people to stay inside during the
period.
In Rome it was the god of agriculture, Saturn, who was honored in a
holiday called Saturnalia. It was a holiday that started during the week that
led up to the winter solstice and continued for a month with hedonistic
celebrations. There was plenty of food and drink and the normal social class
rules of who had privilege and power in Roman society were totally disregarded
as everyone participated in the festivities. Some Romans also had a feast called
Juvenalia to honor children and the birthday of the sun god Mithra was sometimes
celebrated by the upper classes.
In the early years of the start of Christianity the main holiday was
Easter. It was in the 4th Century that church officials made a decision to have
the birth of Jesus celebrated as a holiday and Pope Julius I chose December 25
as the day of Jesus’ birth. The holiday, which was first called the Feast of the
Nativity, spread to England by the end of the 6th Century and to Scandinavia by
the end of the 8th Century.
Church leaders achieved the goal of having Christmas celebrations, including
attendance at church, become popular during the winter solstice, but they were
unable to control other pagan-like celebrations during Christmas. Believers
would attend church on Christmas and then participate later in raucous and
drunken celebrations. But by the Middle Ages, from around the 5th to the 16th
Century, Christianity had outgrown paganism as a religion.
The celebration of Christmas in Europe changed in the early 17th Century
when Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans gained power in England in 1645. To remove
decadent behavior from the society, Cromwell cancelled Christmas as the Puritans
noted that the Bible doesn’t mention any date for Jesus’ birth. The lack of this
information and specific Biblical references to Christmas is also cited by
religious groups like Jehovah Witnesses as the reason they don’t observe or
participate in Christmas. Christmas celebrations returned in England around 1649
when Charles II was restored to the throne.
Christmas wasn’t a holiday in early America because the Pilgrims who came
to America had even stricter beliefs than Cromwell and the Puritans. Christmas
celebrations were even forbidden in Boston from 1659 to 1681. During the same
time however, settlers in Jamestown in Virginia were reported to have enjoyed
Christmas.
After the American Revolution Christmas again lost popularity and it wasn’t
until June 26, 1870 that Christmas was declared a federal holiday. Christmas in
the United States gained popularity as a holiday period during the 19th Century.
Christmas celebrations also changed at that time to be more family-centered
rather than being carnival-like.

It can be very satisfying to cater to friends, families and loved ones
during the Christmas holidays. Taking the time to share food, fun and laughter
in a happy, jovial manner truly embraces the spirit of Christmas.
In deciding to have a party at home, one of the first things to consider
is whether it will be formal or informal. Among the key things that need to be
considered are the number of people to attend, the menu, the preparation of food
and arrangement of decoration that is attractive and has themes for the
holidays. It’s also important to make a note of how much, if any, help will be
available from friends or family members.
A formal Christmas party likely would include a small number of people –
not more than 12 and likely fewer – who would be seated at a table for the
duration of the meal. It means that place settings and seating have to be done
and a decision made on whether the meal will be a three- or four-course dinner.
The advantage of a formal dinner is that it is very organized, it has a
known content and everyone around the table usually engages in pleasant
conversation. It also usually provides a good opportunity to get to know and
hear from everyone present without having to initiate any small talk, which some
people are not comfortable doing.
As the host of a formal dinner, you will also have the responsibility of
keeping the meal flowing smoothly by having each course brought out at the
perfect timing and to also be aware of any special needs that a guest may have.
In contrast, an informal Christmas party at home is organized in a
different manner and does not have the predictability of a formal one. The fun
and festive spirit of an informal holiday party comes from groups of people who
mill around, move about freely to have conversations, laugh and enjoy munching
on Christmas treats, goodies and other foods.
Despite the easy, fun-filled atmosphere, it is necessary to plan the use of
space and to think about the area that people will use or wander around. Making
such a plan will facilitate contact between partygoers so that the party spirit
will pervade everywhere and put participants in a livelier mood.
Another consideration to make for an informal Christmas party among friends and
family is if children will be present and about their ages, if they are allowed
to attend. Children, even older ones, always need careful supervision. If
children are going to attend a holiday party at home, arrangements should be
made for adequate supervision of them and special activities should also be
provided that can occupy their attention.
An important feature that must be a part of a festive Christmas party at home is
the right mix of music. In selecting Christmas music, consideration should be
given to what will be played at the start of the party as guests are welcomed
and introduced to each other, the songs that can be played later to inject or
enhance liveliness and later to create the right mood as the partygoers bid
farewell with ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays.’
Along with the music, Christmas decorations and even the food can also help to
enliven a Christmas party at home. Food that is interesting because it looks
‘pretty’ due to the color palette of items, infuses a mellow feeling among
guests and adds an intangible element to the level of enjoyment and excitement
of the partygoers.
Christmas parties at home can also be personalized with special cookies, treats
and dishes that are ethnic. The presence of some ethnic food, but not an
overwhelming quantity, which isn’t frequently enjoyed by guests will be
different and will add something that is unique to the host. And that is a part
of what a Christmas or holiday party at home is about. It’s to entertain family,
friends and acquaintances with a personal style while all enjoy some merriment
in the season of goodwill and good cheer.

Greetings at Christmas extend beyond a mere wish of ‘Merry Christmas’ or
‘Happy Holidays.’ Christmas greetings embody a wish that all will go well in
whatever preparations need to be made, and a genuine sentiment that much joy,
happiness and well being will be experienced by the individual and loved ones
during the season.
The season of good cheer and wishes also reflect the jolly ho, ho, ho
nature of Santa Claus. To the delight of children, it is very easy for them to
run into many jolly fellows dressed as Santa Claus during the Christmas season
who will quiz them about whether they have been good or naughty. Many times when
friends, relatives and loved ones call each other during the Christmas season,
they will speak to the children and wish them Merry Christmas, but not without a
warning that they had better be good or else there will be no presents from
Santa Claus.
For children therefore, a greeting of Merry Christmas has the purpose of
increasing their anticipation for the arrival of Christmas Eve and Santa’s visit
to leave toys and Christmas presents under the tree.
Because children also take part in many traditions associated with Christmas,
holiday greetings for them is also a reminder of the fun they will have in doing
such activities as decorating the tree, helping to bake cookies and wrapping
presents. When children have these things to look forward to at Christmas, it
creates a lasting memory for them and helps to make their childhood one on which
they will later reflect on with much fondness.
The more prevalent greeting of ‘Happy Holidays’ that is used today reflects in
part the also prevalent nature to be politically correct in speech and
communication. The greeting of ‘Happy Holidays’ can be given to anyone whether
or not they celebrate Christmas. It avoids any offense being taken if someone is
wished Merry Christmas when it’s a celebration in which they don’t participate
or observe.
Happy Holidays is also used to extend a greeting of goodwill beyond Christmas to
the coming New Year holiday period. For procrastinators and the chronically late
greeting card senders, they can still drop a ‘Happy Holiday’ greeting card in
the mail to friends and loved ones close to Christmas Day or even after and it
will still be relevant.
Christmas greeting cards play a big role in communicating Christmas greetings
and good cheer for the holiday season. It’s a tradition that started in Britain
in 1840 with the start of the first public postal deliveries. The production of
large numbers of Christmas greeting cards started about twenty years later in
1860 with the improvement of printing methods.
Today, Christmas greetings and greeting cards have further evolved with massive
changes and development in technology. The computer, which has become a
necessary electronic equipment in just about every home, is commonly used to
send Christmas greetings through emailing an online greeting or postcard. Online
greeting cards also have brought other changes such as being interactive or
animated and they can also be easily personalized with pictures of individuals
or families. Online greeting cards can be sent from websites that are accessible
to everyone or they can be easily created on a home computer.
Another way in which Christmas greetings are sent is by mailing gifts and
presents to relatives and friends who live elsewhere. Except for the dreaded tax
season, there is no other time when post offices become more crowded than during
the Christmas season. Post Offices therefore play an important role in relaying
Christmas greetings by handling thousands of greeting card mailings and gift
packages for Christmas.
With just about everyone having a cheerful spirit for the Christmas season, it
becomes very easy to pause for even a brief conversation and extend a greeting
of goodwill to friends, acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors and others.