How do people spend Christmas in the United States? What activities do people hold?
Christmas on December 25 is the largest and most lively holiday in the United States. It can be said that after Thanksgiving, Americans begin to get busy for Christmas. Activities held include:
1. Celebrating Christmas Eve all night long.
Some of them gather in pubs, dance halls, and clubs to have fun; some have a sumptuous dinner as a family, and then sit around the fireplace to enjoy family happiness; and there are also devout believers. Then attend the midnight service commemorating the birth of Jesus in the brightly lit church.
2. "Announcement of Good News" activity
The activity of "Announcement of Good News" symbolizes the angels reporting the good news of Christ's birth to the shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Late at night, the church choir went from door to door to the believers' homes to sing Christmas carols in unison. So the family came out and joined in the chorus.
After singing, the host invited everyone into the house and entertained them with refreshments. After joking, the choir goes to other people's homes to sing, and the host's family often goes with them. The team to "report good news" gets bigger and bigger. They sing one by one, and the joyful atmosphere continues unabated, often lasting until Dawn.
3. Decorate the Christmas tree
People will hang gifts and colored lights on a small fir tree or a small pine tree, and put a big star on the top of the tree. These decorations have symbolic meanings. The colored lights on the tree symbolize Jesus bringing light to the world, and the big star on the top of the tree represents the star that led the three Magi to Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus.
In addition to Christmas trees, holly and mistletoe are also common decorations in Christmas. Americans often weave holly branches into garlands and hang them on their doors, or place a few holly branches on their dining tables as holiday decorations.
Extended information:
The origin of Christmas
Christmas, also known as Christmas, is translated as "Christ's Mass". It originated from ancient times. The Saturnalia festival when the Romans welcomed the new year has nothing to do with Christianity. After Christianity became popular in the Roman Empire, the Holy See followed the trend and incorporated this folk festival into the Christian system to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
But Christmas is not the birthday of Jesus, because the Bible does not record the specific day when Jesus was born, and it also does not mention the existence of such a festival. Christianity absorbed ancient Roman mythology. result.
Most Catholic churches will first hold midnight mass on Christmas Eve, December 24, that is, in the early morning of December 25, while some Christian churches will hold the Good News, and then on December 25 Celebrate Christmas; Orthodox Christianity, another branch of Christianity, celebrates Christmas on January 7th every year. Christmas is also a public holiday in the Western world and many other areas.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Christmas