Культура связана с культом предков, с преданиями и традициями.
Н.А.Бердяев.
Christmas
Every year in December we celebrate a birthday of Jesus Christ. This is why we call this time of year Christmas - we celebrate the Mass (or church service) for Christ. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December with a Christmas dinner at midday for the whole family. During the weeks before Christmas Day British people send cards, watch nativity plays and go to carol services. They put up Christmas decorations in their homes and churches.
Many of the Christmas customs began long before Jesus was born. They came from earlier festivals which had nothing in common with the Christian church. The Romans, for example, held the festival of Saturnalia around 25 December. They decorated their homes with evergreens to remind them of Saturn, their harvest god, to return the following spring.
Christmas traditionally started at sunset 24 December. Our ancestors considered this to be Christmas Evening (or Christmas Eve). Night time on Christmas Eve is very exciting for young children. It's the time when Father Christmas comes. The children leave mince pies and brandy for Father Christmas, and carrots for the raindeers.
The traditional Christmas tree is a fir-tree but nowadays more and more people buy artificial trees "to save the earth". The Christmas tree became popular in England in 1841 when Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert brought a Christmas tree over from Germany and put it in Windsor Castle. The Royal Family was illustrated in a newspaper standing around the Christmas tree. And the tradition of decorating a tree became fashionable.
Christmas Pudding originates from an old Celtic dish known as frumenty. Many households have their own recipe for Christmas pudding, some handed down through families for generations. The pudding is traditionally served as part of the Christmas dinner in Britain, Ireland and in some other countries where it has been brought by British emigrants.
Christmas Carols are special songs sung during the Christmas season. The songs are about Jesus and the time he was born. Many Christmas carols were written especially for religious performances - mysteries dating from medieval times. The word carol comes from the ancient Greek choros which means dancing in a circle, and from the old French word carole, meaning a song to accompany dancing. Carol singing, or Carolling, is singing carols in the street or public places. It's one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, going back to the Middle Ages when beggars seeking food would wander in the streets singing holiday songs. People today still go carol singing. They go from house to house singing carols and collecting money for charity.
Father Christmas's raindeers are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or Donder), Blitzen and Rudolf. Eight of the names are taken from the poem "A Visit from St.Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore, a priest and a teacher of ancient Greek. He wrote the poem for his six children. The ninth name is from the popular song "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Raindeer".
Father Christmas's raindeers are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or Donder), Blitzen and Rudolf. Eight of the names are taken from the poem "A Visit from St.Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore, a priest and a teacher of ancient Greek. He wrote the poem for his six children. The ninth name is from the popular song "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Raindeer".
