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Christmas and the magic of winter
Snowflake ornament
“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.”
W. T. Ellis
Just the mention of the word Christmas brings a sparkle to our eyes and the merry sound of jingling bells.
It's a festival we look forward to all year long.
Let's list all the things that Christmas means to us:
- the birth of baby Jesus in Bethlehem
- his happy parents Mary and Joseph
- sheep and donkeys by the manger
- the three wise men
- the star that guided them
And now, let's list all the emotions associated with this beautiful festival.
- excitement
- happiness
- love
- a spirit of sharing and caring
We celebrate this special day with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, presents, sweets and treats, snow and glitter, holidays and family time.
Many of us go to church for Mass, sing carols and pray for love and peace to all mankind.
What started as a Christian festival is now celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike, nearly all around the world.
But how did it all begin?
Here are some ideas to set your children off on some holiday research.
Baby Jesus, Mary and Jospeh
The origins
The origins of Christmas stem from both pagan and Roman cultures.
The English term Christmas means “Mass on Christ’s day”.
The earlier term Yule is believed to come from the Germanic "jōl" or the Anglo-Saxon "geōl" which refers to the feast of the winter solstice.
"Navidad" in Spanish, "Natale" in Italian, "Noël" in French, all mean nativity or the birth of baby Jesus.
The German word Weihnachten means “hallowed night.”
The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear.
Using these links, would your children like to find out where and how the celebration of Christmas began.
A bitesize understanding of Christmas
Origin and development of Christmas
History of Christmas
Christmas celebrations around the world
Christmas is celebrated in unique ways in different countries.
For example, in Bangladesh, Christmas is known as 'Borodin' which means 'the big day' in Bengali.
In churches and homes, traditional songs called 'kirtans' are sung. One singer stands in the middle and leads the song and everyone else follows them, walking in a circle.
The songs starts off slowly but gets faster and faster. By the end, everyone is dancing and running around.
In Finland, Santa is called 'Joulupukki'. This literally means 'Christmas Goat'.
Traditionally, there was a Yule goat who was scary and asked people for presents and certainly didn't give any out.
Over time the goat became a gift giver and a human figure though the name of the 'Christmas Goat' was kept.
Joulupukki rides with reindeer and leaves gifts under the Christmas tree but if you have been naughty you could end up with a bag of coal.
In Syria, children wait for presents not from Santa but from the youngest of the three wise men’s camels.
Your children will be delighted to discover more such interesting traditions from around the world.
From fish in the bathtub to a witchy version of Santa Claus, here are some more cultural spins on the beloved celebration.
Ten European Christmas traditions you may not know
Globe, snow and pine trees
Christmas cookies
Christmas feast and goodies
In every country, food takes centre stage at Christmas.
In fact, as we all know and do, baking and cooking begins weeks before the actual Christmas day.
With the start of Advent, we start looking at our favourite recipes, planning and already baking cookies.
The Christmas meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself.
Some families say grace adding a ritual element to the celebration.
The traditional English Christmas dinner usually features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables.
There is also other types of poultry, roast beef and ham.
Desserts include pumpkin or apple pie, Christmas pudding and fruitcake.
Depending on the part of the world, the cuisine can vary with regional cuisines and local traditions.
Here are some fun and interesting Christmas food facts from around the world.
If you feel like cooking something different at home for Christmas this year, here are fifteen Christmas dishes from around the world
And some great recipes for cookies and cakes.
Happy baking and cooking!
Christmas traditions
Very soon, lists for Santa and the family will be drawn and lots of hints regarding gifts will be dropped.
Socks will be hung up at fireplaces and the anticipation and excitement of receiving Christmas presents will be sky high.
The tradition of hanging socks at the hearth comes from olden times when fireplaces were the place where socks and small items of clothing were hung to dry.
Santa Claus entered houses through chimneys and the belief was that if the socks were put there, Santa Claus would see them more immediately.
Father Christmas, crackers, decorating the tree and exchanging gifts, Christmas spells so much magic.
Find out where our Christmas traditions come from.
Listen to the story behind 12 Christmas words and traditions
And here are seven unusual Christmas traditions from around Europe
Christmas socks and fireplace
DIY Christmas card
Easy and fun DIY Christmas craft projects
With shorter days and more cozy time indoors, how about taking out your home art supplies, simple ingredients from your kitchen and recyclable materials for some DIY fun and festive magic.
The projects we have compiled for you are all budget-friendly and simple enough for the kids to make with just a little supervision.
They include Christmas wreaths, hats and crackers, sock snowmen, salt dough decorations and easy potato stamp cards.
And to add to the fun and variety, we also have a list of DIY Christmas crafts from around the world.
Enjoy!
Top ten Christmas crafts for kids
And gifts
The true gift of Christmas is in the giving.
With prices shooting up everywhere and it being an expensive time of the year, it is an opportunity for us to show our children that we give gifts because we love and respect people.
Here are some ideas as you and your children plan your Christmas gifts:
- Gifts can be small yet special and have sustainable value
- You could put more effort into choosing a thoughtful gift rather than just spending money to buy it
- Children could be encouraged to invest their time and creativity to make gifts
- Buying from charity shops is a way of giving back to society and helping protect the environment
- You could donate food to the various food banks on our island. For those who need support over Christmas, the food banks are a reassuring place to go to.: Grace Trust, St Helier Church and several churches in Jersey, Salvation Army, Sanctuary Trust, your local Coop to name just a few
- Another idea to reduce waste and re-cycle is by doing a toy swap
- Other meaningful gifts can be spending time with someone who needs company and spending time together doing an activity
"Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide-open heart that thinks of others first."
George Matthew Adams
daughter hugging father