Christmas.....? i've nvr celebrated it before...? answer!!?

The tradition of celebrating Christmas comes to the modern world from days long past, so long ago that the Christian religion hadn't even been started yet.

The Romans, the Celts, and the Goths were all large tribes in Europe, and they all held celebrations around this time of year. These festivals were centered mostly around the Winter Solstice, which is the day with the least amount of daylight in the year.

The Romans had a week long series of holidays called, as a whole, Saturnalia. This was the time of the year that they chased out the bad memories of last year, and welcomed in the promise of the unknown future. Most of the week was spent eating, and drinking, and getting into trouble. Pranks were played, people fell in love, and lots of gifts were given to friends and to children.

Further north, the Celts celebrated the longest night of the year with big feasts centered mostly around a large fire. People would jump over it, and those that made it without singeing their heels would be considered blessed and lucky in the year to come.

Even further north, the Goths and Scandinavian people celebrated the winter solstice for twelve nights! (On the first day of Christmas / my father gave to me / a partridge in a pear tree!) Each day and night was set aside to celebrate some special part of a persons life, each person taking joy in what they had learned, and in the people that had helped them over the past year. Gifts were exchanged, and children were told that Wotan, a big man with a red beard and a white leather suit, would slip into every house to deposit presents in their shoes. The biggest logs the men could find were burned, and if one lasted all twelve nights, everyone in the town would have a good year to come. Other trees were decked out with candles, and strung with garlands of berries, and dedicated to their Gods.

When the Christians came to Europe, they wanted to convert as many people as they could to their way of life. In order to make their system of belief easier to understand, the priests and bishops took the traditions and celebrations of the local people and said: "You don't do that because it's dark this time of year. And you don't do that to honor your own Gods. You do that because Jesus of Nazareth was born on this day." And the Christians changed their system of faith, their system of belief to incorporate these celebrations into their own. Later, around the year 1400, the Pope, who was the leader of all Christians, said that anything that even LOOKED like a heathen practice, could be punished by death, and the celebration of Christmas was buried for years. It wasn't really revived in much of Europe until the mid - late 1600s! When the pilgrims came to Massachusetts Bay, they didn't celebrate Christmas because it was "too gaudy" and "too heathen", but celebrations were coming back in Germany and France with great appeal! People were digging out their great-grandparents books and reading about how things were celebrated, and throwing little parties of their own to connect with their family roots.

Nowadays, people just want to party a little, and they keep many of the old ways by putting up trees covered in lights and ornaments, giving gifts to each other, and partying! Of course, the Christian church has done a lot to remove the real "reason for the season", and the old Roman, Celtic, and Gothic Gods don't get the same sacrifices they used to.

Ok people celebrate Christmas because its a Christian holiday, hence the CHRIST in christmas. This is the day when you buy family and friends presents. If you recieved presents from people you put them all under the tree starting whenever you get them. Then on Christmas Eve "Santa" comes and delivers more gifts.

The reason we get presents is because it is to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus.

I get my presents opened on Christmas day, but they are under the tree for like a month.

There is a Christmas Eve because in the oldern day orphans would pray for presents on the night before christmas this guy would come bring presents. later on they named him santa claus and no santa is not real but he was back then because he was a person that would do it around a few towns.

If you are serious about christmas you should take the time to do some reasearch on christians. if you are okay with the religion then sure celebrate it but remember what its really all about. Christmas is the term real christians use while "xmas" is the people who just go with the whole commercial thing. they just do they same stuff but dont really agree with why we do it.

There are many different family traditions. Mine are:

First weekend in december we put up the christmas tree and decorate.

On Christmas eve mom cooks a HUGE dinner, bigger than thanks giving. We all eat it and go outside to watch the fireworks. Then right before bed we bake cookies and set out some milk -i have younger siblings- and we hang up our stockings above the fire place. On Christmas day we wake up really early, wait for the whole family to get up, and open the presents. most people celebrate it just for the gifts but in my neighborhood its rather a big deal.

Traditionally Christmas Eve is a time for things like midnight mass (a church service that usually occurs well before midnight because old folks don't like to stay up late), nativity plays (usually with little kids acting out the birth of Jesus), and a Christmas Eve feast. But everyone has their own traditions.

My family used to each get one present Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas day, just to give you a little teaser. Now that we're all grown, we just get all the presents out of the way Christmas Eve. We also play a game, usually trivial pursuit, and compete for little presents like socks or figurines or pot holders.

Christmas is cool, just don't get too stressed out by it and it's fine.

depends on your family situation and the work scheduals

sometimes people get together christmas eve, like my family for supper, open presents and go riding around looking at christmas lights but that is them. then on christmas day we see the relatives i dont like and they have there get together

lots of people open presents christmas morning and then go visiting

it just depends

your parents have a point though, christmas used to be fun but now all it is has become a time for stores to get you to spend money and for people to be greedy and so much stress and pressure. I would skip it too if i could cause the meaning is long been lost.

Yes, it's highly commercialized.. but honestly who doesn't love presents?

It's also great for the little kids, they enjoy it so much!

In my family I go to my dads on Christmas eve and open presents

from him, my step-mom and my grandparents. Than I have a nice dinner with them..

My dad takes me and my little brother home after dinner.

( My parents are divorced. )

After we get home we all watch " A Christmas Story " together.

( Me, my mom, step-dad, and little brother. ) After that I'll go to bed

and my brother will wake me up around 8 in the morning..than my mom and

step-dad will get up and they'll make pancakes, and bacon. We open stockings,

than Christmas presents. Eventually my other relatives arrive and we open presents

from them.. than all have Christmas dinner together. :)

Christmas eve- Is the day before Christmas.

Just like New years eve- is the day before New Years.

There is a Christmas day because it's gods birthday!

It's not all about gifts..

Hope that helped..

Christmas is suppose to be the day of Jesus Christ. Many people have many different family traditions. Some open presents the night before Christmas and some open on. It was made a national holiday some where in the 1900's. Mostly its a holiday that is meant to get families together.

Uh, when i was little, we usually opend 1 present..on christmas eve and the rest on chistmas... Christmas eve is lik the start of xmas.

well there is an eve because that is the day before, it's not celebrate as much. most people get presents on the day i do believe..

hahaha.... i ask my friends and family what they would like for christmas and maybe two weeks before christmas day, i go out to shop! yeah, christmas is commercial. but more importantly it's a time for family.

xmas is a non religious style of christmas. same traditions except the church stuff