Christian Holidays

Many Christians and a lot of other people celebrate Christian holidays without knowing their true meaning and origins of the traditions of the holidays. For example, many people give gifts but only a fraction of the people know why they are giving gifts and do not know where it started or the meaning of it. 

First, Christmas is usually celebrated on December 25. Named after Jesus Christ, it celebrates the birth of Jesus, over 90 percent of the US celebrates it. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Herod heard of the birth of Jesus and did not want him to take his throne so he sent three Wiseman to investigate. They followed the north star to Bethlehem. Instead of doing the King's bidding. They gave Jesus gifts. First, he was given gold, then frankincense(an incense made of sap produced by a tree), and myrrh, an oil. The giving of these gifts started the tradition of giving presents on Christmas morning   Decorating the Christmas tree was a tradition that started a long time ago. Nobody knows exactly when it was but the evergreen tree represents the everlasting love and power of God because the tree always stayed green. 

    Next, Good Friday is usually celebrated on April 2. It is celebrated because it was the day of Jesus's death. He was crucified(an ancient punishment of having your feet and hands nailed to a cross to die) on the cross by the Jews and the Romans. He sacrificed himself for the sins of humankind. His last breath was to ask God to forgive the people who crucified him. He was crucified with two other criminals, one asked for forgiveness and was a believer when the other was skeptical and did not. On that day, Jesus once again rose to heaven. 

  After Good Friday is Easter, celebrated on April 4, 3 days after Good Friday. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. After his death by crucifixion, he was put in a cave and was covered by a large stone, but three days later, the stone was rolled back and the cave was empty. He had been resurrected and he had holes in his hands and feet to prove it. The tradition of hiding and finding eggs originated from Germany, the eggs represent new life or the resurrection of Jesus. The eggshell was the tomb that he was buried in, and the candy or toys inside represented Jesus. 

   An old holiday, All Saint’s day, or All Hallow’s Day originated from Rome. It was a day dedicated to all the saints and popes, however, not everybody celebrated it, mainly Roman Catholics celebrated it. The name All Hallow’s Day may sound familiar. Halloween was born from All Hallow’s Eve and a Celtic holiday, where people dressed up as ghosts and ghouls to scare away the goblins and demons. Celtic people also left food outside for the needy. Carved pumpkins were also left outside to scare away bad creatures. People began to combine the holidays to form Halloween, where people dress up in costumes and go door to door trick or treating.