History of Christmas Cards
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
The first Christmas card was printed in 1843 in England. The card was printed on stiff cardboard measuring 3 ¼ x 5 1⁄8 inches. The card depicted a family having a party with the greeting “Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You” written below using sepia. Sepia was a dark brown ink made [...]
sssHistory of Christmas Mistletoe
By Ashanti in Christmas History
The mistletoe has been in the lives of people, in the West, for many years. The earliest record of mistletoe is 200 years before Jesus. The druids of old used the magical powers of the mistletoe when celebrating the different aspects of the winter season. The mistletoe has been associated with peace, love, healing and [...]
sssHistory of Christmas Stockings
By Ashanti in Christmas History
Christmas time in the West is filled with many traditions that make this festive season full of sentiment. Many people treasure Christmas Eve, when they hang up their stocking for Santa to fill. The contents depend on how the person has behaved during the year. A Christmas stocking is an empty bag made in the [...]
sssThe History of Santa Claus
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
The actual existence of Saint Nicholas as a human being has never been proven. There is a possibility that some of the details in his life story are merely borrowed from those of pagan gods. According to some experts, the legends of Saint Nicholas are reminiscent of myths ascribed to gods such as Poseidon in [...]
sssThe History of Christmas in America
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
It was not until the late 1800s that Christmas was embraced by the Americans as a federal holiday. Not only was Christmas uncelebrated; it was even outlawed at some point. This unfavorable feeling by Americans against Christmas can be traced back to events inEnglandin the 1600s. During Civil War During the English civil war in [...]
sssHistory on Christmas: The Old Christmas Day
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
Today, Christmas Day is celebrated every 25th day in December but centuries ago, the Christmas celebration used to be held on the 6th of January. This was because the old calendar that people used at the time had a different number of days compared to the Gregorian calendar we use at present. The calendar [...]
sssHistory of Christmas: King Herod
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
At the time of Jesus’ birth, Judaea was under the rule of King Herod. The same night that Jesus was born, three wise men were travelling across the desert when they saw a star shining very brightly in the sky. They understood it as the sign that the King of the Jews has been born, [...]
sssThe History of Christmas
By Anne Walker in Christmas History
The celebration of Christmas Day, interestingly, has its roots in ancient traditions that are essentially pagan. Even before the birth of Christ, some of our Christmas practices such as caroling, bonfires, exchanging of gifts and the putting up of Christmas trees inside our homes were already observed by ancient cultures across Asia and Europe. [...]
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