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What is ADVENT?
Read and see!
Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

There are three meanings of 'coming' that Christians describe in Advent. The first, and most thought of, happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus came into the world as a baby to live as a man and die for us. The second can happen now as Jesus wants to come into our lives now. And the third will happen in the future when Jesus comes back to the world as King and Judge, not a baby.

Advent Sunday can be from the 27th November (which it was in 2016) to the 3rd December (which it was in 2017)! Advent only starts on the 1st December when Christmas Day is on a Wednesday (which happened in 2019)!

Decorate your first New Year Tree
https://www.whychristmas.com/fun/decorateatree.shtml

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Decorate an online Christmas tree game! A fun little activity that's perfect for a Christmas coffee break!

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E-mail Santa!
https://www.emailsanta.com/

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Santa Claus, Christmas and the North Pole live at the emailSanta.com website, Christmas Day and every day of the year! This is where the Jolly Old Elf, Mrs. Claus, the elves, reindeer and all of St. Nick's friends hangout on the Internet!

Well, emailing a letter to jolly Saint Nicholas is the reason why the elves set up this website for children in the first place! It's a tradition for children to get a letter from Santa Claus after all. Most importantly, yule get a reply fast as reindeer fly and no trip to the post office needed.

After you send your letter, you can read other children's letters to Santa Claus too. They keep Mrs. Claus in the Christmas Spirit all year long.

And don't forget your pet's Christmas wish letters. The elves made a special keyboard so Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer can reply.

Then, sneak a peak at the North Pole tweets! (Hey, that rhymes!) That is to say, you can watch as the elves and Mrs. Claus message back and forth with the Big Man in the Red Suit! Yule laugh and giggle and make bellies jiggle! It's fun reading texts from Santa!

Speaking of sneaking a peak, how would you like to know what Santa Claus is doing right now? Well, you can track Santa Claus on the emailSanta.com Santa Tracker on the night before Christmas in December and year round too! In other words, the Santa Tracker shows you what Father Christmas is doing in his office at the North Pole at this very moment.

On Christmas Eve, the elves use the Santa Tracker to help Father Christmas on his famous December flight delivery presents to children around the World! And you are invited along for the fun! How Christmassy cool is that?

Meanwhile, do you ever wonder how children end up on the Naughty or Nice List? I don't want to give away any secrets, but there is a list of Christmas webcams around the world. St. Nick even has a North Pole webcam so kids can visit and watch him!

The elves LOVE fun and games! There's a December toy bag full of word games, trivia and more Christmas fun for children of all ages.

For example, do you think you could find all the ways children say "Merry Christmas" around the world?

On the other hand, if you like trivia, what was the name of the misfit elf in the TV show "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer"?

So what makes an elf giggle? Super silly Holiday jokes for kids of course! For example, what does Frosty the Snowman drink to stay warm?

After that, you can check out Saint Nicholas' magic photo albums. There's photos of the North Pole, photos of Santa's Workshop and more!

Do you have questions about Saint Nicholas? Well, the Grumpy Elf is here to answer your questions about the man in the red suit, the red hat and the white beard. That is to say, he'll help you about as much as a grumpy elf would. The Santa Claus FAQ has answers to questions you hadn't even thought about! For example, how do reindeer fly?

Every day is a Christmas celebration at the North Pole! Life here is wild and crazy! And not just in December. There's always something silly and jolly going on at the Christmas village.

First, there's Clumsy the Elf -- 'nuff said! Secondly, there's Santa's Grumpy Elf -- 'nuff said -- again!

Read the Christmas blog to find out what goes on when you go way up North!

Naughty or Nice? Check that list twice! After that, see how long is it to Christmas and when that famous gift bringer, Kris Kringle, is coming to town.

In short (that's what the elves always say!), there is a toy bag of family fun and gifts waiting for you at emailSanta.com!

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emailSanta.com - Santa's Real North Pole online!

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Santa Claus magic & fun: Christmas Day & Every Day! Nice List, games & tracker! Letters, jokes & laughter! Santa's watching you; Webcam, tweets, emails too!

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SANTA letters 2021

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SANTA letters 2021

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Write letters to Santa Claus and believe in Miracles!

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Елка))) игрушки и гирлянды!!!! А почему мы, люди-человеки ставим елку в доме?) Все можно узнать здесь и заодно попрактиковать свой английский 💯

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The History of Christmas Trees on whychristmas?com

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The history of Christmas Trees, when they became popular and what they mean and represent at Christmas.

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4 день ожидания Нового года!😉 Сегодня нужно выполнить 2 задания! Хотя....их можно выполнять КАЖДЫЙ день💯💯💯 обняться и поцеловаться с любимыми людьми и написать письмо Деду Морозу)
Здесь история первой традиции-мислтоу!! https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/mistletoe.shtml

Письмо Деду Морозу - отправляю в День 2

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Mistletoe is a plant that grows on range of trees including willow, apple and oak trees. The tradition of hanging it in the house supposedly goes back to the times of the ancient Druids; however, there's little evidence that this happened. It is also meant to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology.

When the first Christians came to Western Europe, some tried to ban the use of Mistletoe as a decoration in Churches, becuase of some of the old stories about it, but many still continued to use it! York Minster Church in the UK used to hold a special Mistletoe Service in the winter, where wrong doers in the city of York could come and be pardoned.

Why do we kiss under mistletoe?

The custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from England. The earliest recorded date mentioning kissing under the mistletoe is in 1784 in a musical. There was kissing under the mistletoe in the illustrations in the first book version of 'A Christmas Carol' published in 1843, and this might have helped to popularise kissing under the mistletoe. The original custom was that a berry was picked from the sprig of Mistletoe before the person could be kissed and when all the berries had gone, there could be no more kissing!

The name mistletoe comes from two Anglo Saxon words 'Mistel' (which means dung) and 'tan' (which means) twig or stick! So you could translate Mistletoe as 'poo on a stick'!!! Not exactly romantic is it!

Mistletoe was also hung on the old English decoration the Kissing Bough.

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The Tradition of Mistletoe at Christmas on whychristmas?com

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Mistletoe is a plant that grows on range of trees including willow, apple and oak trees. The tradition of hanging it in the house supposedly goes back to the times of the ancient Druids; however, there's little evidence that this happened.

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Есть время научиться быстро и четко читать скороговорку) Иллюстрировать ее! И.... привести в порядок костюм))))
Santa’s Short Suit Shrunk.

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Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.

The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.

Christmas is now celebrated by people around the world, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when family and friends come together and remember the good things they have. People, and especially children, also like Christmas as it's a time when you give and receive presents!

The Date of Christmas

No one knows the real birthday of Jesus! No date is given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on the 25th December? The early Christians certainly had many arguments as to when it should be celebrated! Also, the birth of Jesus probably didn't happen in the year 1 but slightly earlier, somewhere between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC, possibly in 4 BCE/BC (there isn't a 0 - the years go from 1 BC/BCE to 1!).

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). But it was not an official Roman state festival at this time.

However, there are many different traditions and theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.

A very early Christian tradition said that the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25th - and it's still celebrated today on the 25th March. Nine months after the 25th March is the 25th December! March 25th was also the day some early Christians thought the world had been made, and also the day that Jesus died on when he was an adult. The date of March 25th was chosen because people had calculated that was the day on which Jesus died as an adult (Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar) and they thought that Jesus was conceived and had died on the same day of the year.

The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the Southern Hemisphere, this time is the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice happens in late June.)

To pagans this meant that they knew that the days would start getting lighter and longer and the nights would become shorter - marking a change in the seasons. To celebrate people had a mid-winter festival to celebrate the sun 'winning' over the darkness of winter. At this time, animals which had been kept for food were also often killed to save having to feed them all through the winter and some drinks which had been brewing since the autumn/harvest would also be ready to drink. So it was a good time to have a celebration with things to eat and drink before the rest of the winter happened. (We still have New Year celebrations near this time now!)

In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the time around the Winter Solstice is known as Yule (although the word Yule only seems to date to about the year 300). In Eastern Europe the mid-winter festival is called Koleda.

In Iranian/Persian culture, the winter solstice is known as 'Yalda Night' or 'Shab-e Chelleh' and it's a time when families and friends come together to eat, drink and recite poetry. Shab-e Chelleh means 'night of forty' as it happens forty nights into winter. The word Yalda means 'birth' and comes from early Christians living in Persia celebrating the birth of Jesus around this time. Eating, fruits, nuts, pomegranates and watermelons are important at Yalda/Chelleh and you can get Yalda cakes which look like watermelons!

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December 17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. The Romans also thought that the Solstice took place on December 25th. It's also thought that in 274 the Roman emperor Aurelian created 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' (meaning 'birthday of the unconquered sun') also called 'Sol Invictus' and it was held on December 25th.

Because of the dates, some people say that the Christians 'took over' December 25th from these Roman festivals and/or Yule. However, there are records going back to around 200 of early Christians connecting the Nisan 14 to the 25th March, and so 25th December was a 'Christian' festival date many years before 'Sol Invictus'! (More recent studies have also found that the 'Sol Invictus' connection didn't appear until the 12th century and it's from one scribbled note in the margins of a manuscript. There's also evidence that 'Sol Invictus' might also have happened in October and not December anyway!)

Christmas had also been celebrated by the early Church on January 6th, when they also celebrated the Epiphany (which means the revelation that Jesus was God's son) and the Baptism of Jesus. (Like the December 25th date above, this was based on a calculation of Jesus's death/conception but from the 6th April not the 25th March.) Now Epiphany mainly celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, but back then it celebrated both things! Jesus's Baptism was originally seen as more important than his birth, as this was when he started his ministry.

The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the eve of the Kislev 25 (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish people were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following many years of not being allowed to practice their religion.

Jesus was a Jew, so this could be another reason that helped the early Church choose December the 25th for the date of Christmas!

Most of the world uses the 'Gregorian Calendar' implemented by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Before that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was used (named after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more accurate than the Roman calendar which had too many days in a year! When the switch was made 10 days were lost, so that the day that followed the 4th October 1582 was 15th October 1582. In the UK the change of calendars was made in 1752. The day after 2nd September 1752 was 14th September 1752.

Many Orthodox and Coptic Churches still use the Julian Calendar and so celebrate Christmas on the 7th January (which is when December 25th would have been on the Julian calendar). And the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates it on the 6th January! In some part of the UK, January 6th is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the day that Christmas would have celebrated on, if the calendar hadn't been changed. Some people didn't want to use the new calendar as they thought it 'cheated' them out of 11 days!

Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so the early Christians thought that this was the right time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They also took over some of the customs from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian meanings, like Holly, Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols!

St Augustine of Canterbury was the person who probably started the widespread celebration of Christmas in large parts of England by introducing Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century (other Celtic parts of Britain were already Christian but there aren't many documents about if or how they celebrated the birth of Jesus). St Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in Rome and that church used the Roman Calendar, so western countries celebrate Christmas on the 25th December. Then people from Britain and Western Europe took Christmas on the 25th December all over the world!

If you'd like to know more about the history behind the dating of Christmas, then read this very good article on Bible History Daily (goes to another site).

So when was Jesus Born?

There's a strong and practical reason why Jesus might not have been born in the winter, but in the spring or the autumn! It can get very cold in the winter and it's unlikely that the shepherds would have been keeping sheep out on the hills (as those hills can get quite a lot of snow sometimes!).

During the spring (in March or April) there's a Jewish festival called 'Passover'. This festival remembers when the Jews had escaped from slavery in Egypt about 1500 years before Jesus was born. Lots of lambs would have been needed during the Passover Festival, to be sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem. Jews from all over the Roman Empire traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, so it would have been a good time for the Romans to take a census. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem for the census (Bethlehem is about six miles from Jerusalem).

In the autumn (in September or October) there's the Jewish festival of 'Sukkot' or 'The Feast of Tabernacles'. It's the festival that's mentioned the most times in the Bible! It is when Jewish people remember that they depended on God for all they had after they had escaped from Egypt and spent 40 years in the desert. It also celebrates the end of the harvest. During the festival, Jews live outside in temporary shelters (the word 'tabernacle' come from a latin word meaning 'booth' or 'hut').

Many people who have studied the Bible, think that Sukkot would be a likely time for the birth of Jesus as it might fit with the description of there being 'no room in the inn'. It also would have been a good time to take the Roman Census as many Jews went to Jerusalem for the festival and they would have brought their own tents/shelters with them! (It wouldn't have been practical for Joseph and Mary to carry their own shelter as Mary was pregnant.)

The possibilities for the Star of Bethlehem seems to point either spring or autumn.

The possible dating of Jesus birth can also be taken from when Zechariah (who was married to Mary's cousin Elizabeth) was on duty in the Jewish Temple as a Priest and had an amazing experience. There is an excellent article on the dating of Christmas based on the dates of Zechariah's experience, on the blog of theologian, Ian Paul. With those dates, you get Jesus being born in September - which also fits with Sukkot!

The year that Jesus was born isn't known. The calendar system we have now was created in the 6th Century by a monk called Dionysius Exiguus. He was actually trying to create a better system for working out when Easter should be celebrated, based on a new calendar with the birth of Jesus being in the year 1. However, he made a mistake in his maths and so got the possible year of Jesus's birth wrong!

Most scholars now think that Jesus was born between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC, possibly in 4 BCE/BC. Before Dionysius's new calendars, years were normally dated from the reigns of Roman Emperors. The new calendar became more widely used from the 8th Century when the 'Venerable Bede of Northumbria' used it in his 'new' history book! There is no year '0'. Bede started dating things before the year 1 and used 1 BCE/BC as the first year before 1. At that time in Europe, the number 0 didn't exist in maths - it only arrived in Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries!

So whenever you celebrate Christmas, remember that you're celebrating a real event that happened about 2000 years ago, that God sent his Son into the world as a Christmas present for everyone!

As well as Christmas and the solstice, there are some other festivals that are held in late December. Hanukkah is celebrated by Jews; and the festival of Kwanzaa is celebrated by some Africans and African Americans takes place from December 26th to January 1st.
Find out why Christmas is sometimes called Xmas!

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Why is Christmas Celebrated on the 25th December?

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Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life.

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Почему Санта стал Сантой? И почему его пальто красное? все ответы - здесь!

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The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus

St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century, in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind man and had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it. There are several legends about St. Nicholas, although we don't know if any of them are true!

Image from the St. Nicholas Center
www.stnicholascenter.org

The most famous story about St. Nicholas tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to put presents in first started! It goes like this:

There was a poor man who had three daughters. The man was so poor that he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn't get married. (A dowry is a sum of money paid to the bridegroom by the bride's parents on the wedding day. This still happens in some countries, even today.) One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house (this meant that the oldest daughter was then able to be married). The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated later with the second daughter. Finally, determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening until he caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. But soon the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that maybe it was from Nicholas.

Because of his kindness Nicholas was made a Saint. St. Nicholas is not only the saint of children but also of sailors! One story tells of him helping some sailors that were caught in a bad storm off the coast of Turkey. The storm was raging around them and all the men were terrified that their ship would sink beneath the giant waves. They prayed to St. Nicholas to help them. Suddenly, he was standing on the deck before them. He ordered the sea to be calm, the storm died away, and they were able to sail their ship safely to port.

St. Nicholas was exiled from Myra and later put in prison during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian but he was released in the time of the later Emperor Constantine, who was a Christian. St Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 (where things about Christianity were discussed).

No one is really knows when St Nicholas died, it was on 6th December in either 343 (which seems to be the most probable), 345 or 352. In 1087, his bones were stolen from Turkey by some Italian merchant sailors. The bones are now kept in the Church named after him in the Italian port of Bari. On St. Nicholas feast day (6th December), the sailors of Bari still carry his statue from the Cathedral out to sea, so that he can bless the waters and so give them safe voyages throughout the year.

in 1066, before he set sail to England, William the Conqueror prayed to St. Nicholas asking that his conquest would go well.

You can find out lots about St Nicholas at the St. Nicholas Center (goes to another site).

How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus

In the 16th Century in northern Europe, after the reformation, the stories and traditions about St. Nicholas became unpopular.

But someone had to deliver presents to children at Christmas, so in the UK, particularly in England, he became 'St Christmas', 'Father Christmas' or 'Old Man Christmas', an old character from story plays during the middle ages in the UK and parts of northern Europe. In France, he was then known as 'Père Nöel'.

In some countries including parts of Austria and Germany, the present giver became the 'Christkind' a golden-haired baby, with wings, who symbolizes the new born baby Jesus.

In the early USA his name was 'Kris Kringle' (from the Christkind). Later, Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle and St Nicholas became 'Sinterklaas' or as we now say 'Santa Claus'!

Many countries, especially ones in Europe, celebrate St. Nicholas' Day on 6th December. In The Netherlands and some other European Countries, children leave clogs or shoes out on the 5th December (St. Nicholas Eve) to be filled with presents. They also believe that if they leave some hay and carrots in their shoes for Sinterklaas's horse, they will be left some sweets.

St. Nicholas became popular again in the 1800s era when writers, poets and artists rediscovered the old stories.

In 1821 an anonymous poem called 'Old Santeclaus with Much Delight' was published in New York. It was the first time that Santa/St Nicholas was described in a sleigh being pulled by a reindeer. The poem was published with eight illustrations in a book called 'The Children's Friend: A New-Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve' and it's the earliest images of 'Santa Claus' rather than St Nicholas or Sinterklaas.

An illustration from 'Old Santeclaus with Much Delight'

In 1823 the famous poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' or 'T'was the Night before Christmas', was published. Dr Clement Clarke Moore later claimed that he had written it for his children. (Some scholars now believe that it was actually written by Henry Livingston, Jr., who was a distant relative of Dr Moore's wife.) In the poem, St. Nicholas is described "He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" and as coming with "a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer". This was the first time we found out the names of the reindeer.

These are the original eight reindeer that were described in the poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas':

Dasher

Dancer

Prancer

Vixen

Comet

Cupid

Donner (who's also been called Dunder and Donder)

Blitzen (who's also been called Blixem, Blixen and Blicksem)

In 1939 we first learnt about Rudolph, when he was written about in a book by Robert L May for the Montgomery Ward department stores. Rudolph then had a cartoon made about him in 1948 and the famous song 'Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer' was written in 1949.

In 1902 the author L. Frank Baum (who wrote the Wizard of OZ) wrote a book called 'The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'. In it a team of 10 reindeer are listed. They have rhyming names in pairs: Flossie and Glossie, Racer and Pacer, Fearless and Peerless, Ready and Steady, Feckless and Speckless. In different books, TV shows, films and songs, other reindeers have been named. Perhaps these are the reverse teams!

Did you know that Rudolph and Santa's other reindeers might well be all girls!? Only female reindeer keep their antlers throughout winter. By Christmas time most males have discarded their antlers and are saving their energy ready to grow a new pair in the spring.

The UK Father Christmas and the American Santa Claus became more and more alike over the years and are now one and the same.

Some people say that Santa lives at the North Pole. In Finland, they say that he lives in the north part of their country called Lapland.

But everyone agrees that he travels through the sky on a sledge that is pulled by reindeer, that he comes into houses down the chimney at night and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds, in front of the family Christmas tree, or by the fire place.

Most children receive their presents on Christmas Eve night or early Christmas morning, but in some countries they get their presents on St. Nicholas' Eve, December 5th.

St. Nicholas putting the bag of gold into a stocking is probably where the custom of having a tangerine or satsuma at the bottom of your Christmas stocking came from. If people couldn't afford gold, some golden fruit was a good replacement - and until the last 50 years these were quite unusual fruits and so still special!

The biggest Christmas stocking was 51m 35cm (168ft 5.65in) long and 21m 63cm (70ft 11.57in) wide (from the heel to the toe). It was made by the volunteer emergency services organisation Pubblica Assistenza Carrara e Sezioni (Italy) in Carrara, Tuscany, Italy, on 5th January 2011. Just think how many presents you could fit in that!

Santa Claus and Coca-Cola

St. Nicholas in Harper's Weekly: January 1863

There's a Christmas Urban Legend that says that Santa's red suit was designed by Coca-Cola and that they might even 'own' Santa!
This is definitely NOT TRUE!
Long before coke had been invented, St Nicholas had worn his Bishop's red robes. During Victorian times and before that, he wore a range of colors (red, green, blue and brown fur) but red was always his favorite! (Images of 'St Christmas', 'Father Christmas' and 'Old Man Christmas' often had him wearing a green 'open' robe trimmed with white. This was also the inspiration for 'The Ghost of Christmas Present' in Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol'.)

In January 1863, the magazine Harper's Weekly published the first illustration of St Nicholas/St Nick by Thomas Nast. In this he was wearing a 'Stars and Stripes' outfit! Over the next 20 years Thomas Nast continued to draw Santa every Christmas and his works were very popular indeed (he must have been very good friends with Santa to get such good access!).

This is when Santa really started to develop his big tummy and the style of red and white outfit he wears today. Nast designed Santa's look on some historical information about Santa and the poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' and the illustrations from 'Old Santeclaus with Much Delight'.

St. Nicholas in Harper's Weekly: January 1881

On January 1st 1881, Harper's Weekly published Nast's most famous image of Santa, complete with a big red belly, an arm full of toys and smoking a pipe!

This image of Santa became very popular, with more artists drawing Santa in his red and white costume from 1900 to 1930.

Santa was first used in Coke adverts in the 1931, with the classic 'Coke Santa' being drawn by artist Haddon Sundblom. He took the idea of Nast's Santa but made him even more larger than life and jolly, replaced the pipe with a glass of Coke and created the famous Coke holding Santa!

Coca-Cola also agree that the red suit was made popular by Thomas Nast and not them!

Coke has continued to use Santa in their adverts since the 1931. In 1995 they also introduced the 'Coca-Cola Christmas truck' in the 'Holidays are coming' TV adverts. The red truck, covered with lights and with the classic 'Coke Santa' on its sides is now a famous part of recent Christmas history.

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St. Nicholas, Santa Claus & Father Christmas on whychristmas?com

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St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century, in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money.

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 Сделайте Деда Мороза)

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 Сделайте Деда Мороза)

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Сегодня работала первая мастерская Санты в 5 классах! Учили Рождественский словарь! Делали открытки! Писали письмо Санте! и вам предлагаем проделать то же самое!!! Have a try)

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Итоги творческой мастерской!

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Итоги творческой мастерской!

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Присоединяйтесь!

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ВЕЧЕР РОЖДЕСТВЕНСКОЙ ИСТОРИИ!

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CHRISTMAS - CHRISTMAS STORIES || CHRISTMAS STORY COMPILATION ||| MERRY CHRISTMAS - STORYTELLING

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Как празднуется Рождество и Новый год во всем мире? Узнавайте)))

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Сегодня день творчества!
Вместе с родителями можно изготовить новогоднюю игрушку! Можно нарисовать первую в жизни картину! Украсить елку) И.... Предлагайте! Показывайте свои работы!

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Сегодня в мастерской Деда Мороза побывали ребята из 6 и 7 классов

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Письма Санта Клаусу 

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Письма Санта Клаусу писать никогда не поздно😊

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Родители с ребятами сделали красивые новогодние украшения на мастер-классе

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Истории о Рождестве) Читать обязательно! Смотреть! Любимые фильмы))) Неспящие в Сиэтле, Гарри Поттер, Семья Клаус, Общество мертвых поэтов и многие другие)

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Why were the Shepherds the first people to find out about the birth of Jesus? And what an amazing way they found out about it!

The Story in the Bible

There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And look, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough."

Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward humankind."

And it happened that when the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. When they saw it, they made known the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

Luke 2:8-20

The History behind the Shepherds and Angels in the Christmas Story

At that time, many people think that sheep farmers were generally seen as having low or little value by other people.

The type of sheep the shepherds would have been raising were 'fat tailed' (or broad tailed) sheep. They often had lambs in the autumn and winter, rather than in the spring which most sheep in western countries these days.

The shepherds were quietly getting on with their own business when suddenly an angel appeared to them. I'm not surprised they were afraid!

The angel's words to them told them of Jesus and his amazing birth and how they could recognise him in a very crowded town. The words of the hosts of angels is very similar to the words sung during a sacrifice service in the temple when there were three blasts of the temple trumpets.

This is only the second time in the whole Bible that a group of angels rather than one angel had appeared to people, so this proved that they had a very important message to give to them. We don't know the names of the angels or how many there were of them, but in the Bible it says that there are millions of angels - so it would have been an amazing experience! If you'd like to know more about angels, go to whychristmas?com's sister site whyangels?com.

There's a theory that Jesus might have been born a couple of miles outside of Bethlehem - and was actually born in the company of the shepherds!

A couple of miles outside Bethlehem there was a special watch tower called the Migdal Eder, which means 'The Tower of the Flock'. It's thought that sheep born there were used as sacrifice animals in the Jewish Temple in near-by Jerusalem. So they were very special and the shepherds were thought of more highly than normal shepherds.

According to some sources, the lambs at Migdal Eder had their health checked by resting them in a 'manger' (or dip in a rock to stop them escaping) and they were even wrapped in swaddling clothes to show they were special!

You can read more about this theory on the pathos blog.

One ancient prophesy from the Bible also said that the Jewish messiah would come to the 'tower of the flock' (Micah 4:8).

I'm not convinced about Jesus actually 'being born' at 'Migdal Eder' but having those shepherds being the first to be told about Jesus makes a lot of sense.

Having seen the new baby, the Bible says "...they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."

If they were shepherds from Migdal Eder, they could have told the people they saw on the way back to hills, friends and relatives in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the 'middle class' people they sold sheep to and also the people and priests in the Jewish Temple when they took their best sheep and lambs to be sold there for sacrifices.

It would have been amazing to both the shepherds, and the people that they told, that this very special baby had been born in a 'normal' house (or in the Migdal Eder) not in a rich house or royal palace.

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The Christmas Story - The Shepherds and Angels

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Why were the Shepherds the first people to find out about the birth of Jesus? And what an amazing way they found out about it! There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

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CHRISTMAS CARDS DIY)))

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DIY Christmas pop up Cards/Handmade Christmas Greeting Cards...

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The STRANGEST tradition!
The tradition of the Christmas Pickle has got to be one of the strangest modern Christmas customs, in that no one is quite sure why it exists at all!

In the 1880s Woolworth stores started selling glass ornaments imported from Germany and some were in the shape of various fruit and vegetables. It seems that pickles must have been among the selection!

Around the same time it was claimed that the Christmas Pickle was a very old German tradition and that the pickle was the last ornament hung on the Christmas tree and then the first child to find the pickle got an extra present.

However, the claim that it's an old German tradition seems to be a total myth! Not many people in Germany have even heard of the Christmas Pickle! (Similarly in Russia virtually no one knows the supposedly Russian story of Babushka!)

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Let's Sing!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_WkKAxS02A

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Попробуем вкусностей со всего света) а если приготовлены своими руками - то будут гораздо вкуснее!!!

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Try lots of traditional Christmas Recipes from around the world. Give yourself a treat this Christmas!

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Christmas crackers! Пока поете песню - сделайте хлопушку)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ebpIvzsKzU

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Новогодние игрушки, свечи и хлопушки      А  Хоралов и Натали

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Пуансеттия - рождественский цветок) рождественское украшение! Знаете почему?

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Poinsettias at Christmas on whychristmas?com

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How Poinsettias were first used at Christmas and why they are associated with Christmas.

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Сегодня в мастерской Санта Клауса побывал 2 Б класс. Ребята сделали открытки и написали письма

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Сегодня в мастерской Санта Клауса побывал 2 Б класс. Ребята сделали открытки и написали письма

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Загадываем загадки)))

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Вкусные конфетки) Почему собственно только на Рождество?

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The first recorded 'candy stick' comes from 1837 at an exhibition in Massachusetts in the USA. They started as straight white sugar sticks and a few years later the red stripes were added. The first time they are documented as being called 'candy canes' comes in 1866; and their first connection to Christmas comes from 1874. Early recipes had them as simply 'sugar' flavored. But we're now used to them being flavored with peppermint or wintergreen.

Around 1920, Bob McCormack, from Georgia, USA, started making canes for his friends and family. They became more and more popular and he started his own business called Bob's Candies. Bob McCormack's brother-in-law, Gregory Harding Keller, who was a Catholic priest, invented the 'Keller Machine' that made turning straight candy sticks into curved candy canes automatically! In 2005, Bob's Candies was bought by Farley and Sathers but they still make candy canes!

A story, that's rather nice but probably isn't true, says that German a choirmaster, in 1670, was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service. So he gave them something to eat to keep them quiet! As he wanted to remind them of Christmas, he made them into a 'J' shape like a shepherds crook, to remind them of the shepherds that visited the baby Jesus at the first Christmas.

Sometimes other Christian meanings are giving to the parts of the canes. The 'J' can also mean Jesus. The white of the cane can represent the purity of Jesus Christ and the red stripes are for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor can represent the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible. However, all of these meanings were added to Candy Canes after they had become popular.

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Christmas Candy Canes on whychristmas?com

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The first recorded 'candy stick' comes from 1837 at an exhibition in Massachusetts in the USA. They started as straight white sugar sticks and a few years later the red stripes were added. The first time they are documented as being called 'candy canes' comes in 1866; and their first connection to Christmas comes from 1874.

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Давайте сделаем оригинальную свечу)

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The idea of Christingles came from a Moravian Church in Germany in 1747. The minister, John de Watteville, gave children at the service a lighted candle with a red ribbon around it. This represented Jesus being the light of the world and the final prayer of that first service was "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these children's hearts, that theirs like Thine become". The custom went around the world with the church. Missionaries brought the Moravian Church to England in the late 1700s. In Moravian churches, the Christingle Service is usually held on the Sunday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve.

Photo from thisischurch.com

Over the years the symbolism of the Christingle grew into what's known as a Christingle today. Here's what the different parts of the Christingle represent:

The orange is round like the world.

The candle stands tall and straight and gives light in the dark like the love of God.

The red ribbon goes all around the 'world' and is a symbol of the blood Jesus shed when he died for us. (Sometimes in Moravian Churches a white ribbon is used, to represent the purity of Jesus.)

The four sticks point in all directions and symbolise North, South, East and West - they also represent the four seasons.

The fruit and nuts (or sometimes sweets!) represent the fruits of the earth, nurtured by the sunshine and the rain.

The word Christingle could have come from several sources. It might be an 'English' version of 'Christkindl' (meaning little Christ child), the present bringer in some parts of Germany and other European countries, who represents the baby Jesus. It could be a the putting together of the words 'Christmas' and 'ingle'. Ingle is an old Scots word for fire and so that would make it mean the 'Christ Light'. As Christingles originally came from Germany, the first theory is more likely.

Christingles became widely known in England by The Children's Society (one of the earliest children's charities in the UK and it has strong connections with the Church of England). The first Christingle service held in the Church of England by the The Children's Society was in 1968 (although some services seem to have been held earlier in at least one Church of England church, as a visitor to the site went to one!).

The idea came from John Pensom who was also known as "Mr Christingle"! People didn't think the service would work as making the Christingles would be too complicated - but they were wrong! The custom has spread through to all kinds of churches and is one of the most common and popular Christmas services in the UK, especially among children. Christingles services still normally raise money for children's charities.

There's a New Year's Day tradition in Wales which dates back to the middle ages called Calennig. Children would go round houses, singing songs and rhymes and wishing people good luck for the new year. They hope to get some money and treats in return! Some adults would go Calennig very early in the morning/night on January 1st and sing very loudly! It has similarities to Carol Singing and Wassailing. People would often carry a Calennig apple - an apple on a tripod of twigs or sticks (so it can stand up) and decorated with nuts, cloves and greenery. This has sometimes been associated with Christingles although they're not related at all! Calennig means 'New year celebration or gift/first day of the month'. Calennig can also now mean the big New Years celebrations held in Welsh cities like Cardiff.

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The History of Christingles on whychristmas?com

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The idea of Christingles came from a Moravian Church in Germany in 1747. The minister, John de Watteville, gave children at the service a lighted candle with a red ribbon around it. This represented Jesus being the light of the world and the final prayer of that first service was "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these children's hearts, that theirs like Thine become".

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Попробуйте приготовить)

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Бисквитный рулет "Рождественское полено", или "Бюш де Нюэль", - главное сладкое угощение, которое французские хозяйки пекут на Рождество с давних пор. Откуда появилась такая традиция? Как приготовить классическое "Рождественское полено" в домашних условиях? Какие его разновидности существуют? Этому и посвящен наш сегодняшний мастер-класс.

Гори-гори ясно!

История "Рождественского полена" начинается в Средние века во Франции. Правда, ни о каком десерте речи еще не было. Тогда существовал такой обычай. На Сочельник вся семья собиралась возле камина, и глава семейства поджигал большое полено. Его могли полить вином, сбрызнуть святой водой, смазать маслом или медом. Считалось, что обряд привлекает в дом благополучие и удачу. Пепел от древесины хранили весь год. Французы верили, что если рассеять его в поле или саду, богатый урожай обеспечен. А если кинуть горстку пепла в хлев, домашний скот принесет щедрый приплод.

В XX веке с появлением печей обряд постепенно ушел в прошлое. Однако память о нем никуда не исчезла. И на смену обычному полену пришло его кондитерское воплощение - "Рождественское полено". Кто и когда его придумал, точно неизвестно. По одной версии, это был кондитер из Сен-Жермен-де-Пре, и произошло это примерно в 1834 году. По другой версии, родиной угощения является Лион, гастрономическая столица Франции 60-х годов XIX века. Некоторые историки утверждают, что первым испек знаменитый рулет Пьер Лакам - придворный кондитер князя Монако Карла III.

Что скрывает рулет

Прообразом классического "Рождественского полена" стал бисквитный рулет, появившийся во Франции примерно в середине XIX века. Первоначально в качестве начинки использовали фруктовые и ягодные джемы. Но со временем на смену им пришел нежный масляный крем. В некоторых регионах в него стали добавлять какао. А, к примеру, на Корсике начинку готовили из каштанового пюре.

Особое значение приобрел декор десерта. Хозяйки старались проявить все свое мастерство. Внешне рулет должен был выглядеть в точности как настоящее полено. Для этого его покрывали темно-коричневой глазурью и прорезали трещинки, чтобы создать имитацию древесной коры. Затем его украшали веточками, листочками, ягодами или грибами из марципана и мастики. Сверху полено слегка присыпали пудрой - как будто его припорошило снегом. Сегодня на "Рождественском полене" можно увидеть грандиозные искусные композиции с Санта-Клаусом, оленями, эльфами, гномами и другими сказочными персонажами. Здесь фантазия кондитеров не ограничена ничем.

Истинный француз

Предлагаем начать с классического рецепта "Рождественского полена". Это одна из вариаций, которую можно попробовать во Франции.

Ингредиенты для бисквита:

желтки куриные - 9 шт.

белки куриные - 5 шт.

сахар - 130 г

мука - 85 г

темный шоколад (не менее 75 % какао) - 200 г

Крем:

сыр маскарпоне - 200 г

темный шоколад (не менее 64 %) - 200 г

сливки 33 % - 50 мл

Желе:

пюре из мандаринов - 250 г

консервированные мандарины без сиропа - 150 г

гранулированный желатин - 10 г

вода - 20 мл

Ганаш:

молочный шоколад - 150 г

темный шоколад - 100 г

сливки 33-35 % - 285 мл

коньяк (по желанию) - 1 ст. л.

сахарная пудра - для декора

Заранее ставим растапливаться на водяную баню 200 г шоколада для бисквита. Взбиваем желтки с 80 г сахара в светлую густую однородную массу. Отдельно взбиваем белки с 50 г сахара в пышные крепкие белоснежные пики. Аккуратно вводим белки в желтки силиконовой лопаткой, чтобы они не опали. Просеиваем муку небольшими порциями, вымешиваем тесто. Вмешиваем остывший растопленный шоколад.

Застилаем два противня пергаментной бумагой. Выкладываем на них тонким слоем бисквитное тесто и разравниваем. Делать это нужно быстро и минимальным количеством движений. Ставим противни в духовку при 170 °C на 10-15 минут.

Пока коржи выпекаются, займемся кремом. Растапливаем 200 г шоколада на водяной бане. Взбиваем маскарпоне и сливки, вводим остывший жидкий шоколад, вымешиваем до однородной массы.

Далее делаем мандариновое желе. Разводим в воде желатин, вводим в чуть подогретое мандариновое пюре вместе с консервированными дольками мандаринов и хорошо вымешиваем. Остывшее желе уберем в холодильник.

Настало время собирать наше полено. Наполняем один кондитерский мешок шоколадным кремом, другой - мандариновым желе.

Выкладываем один бисквитный корж на чистый пергаментный лист. Не переживайте, если корж треснет - крем все надежно склеит. Равномерно покрываем корж половиной крема из кондитерского мешка. Сверху делаем параллельные дорожки из мандаринового желе - также используем только половину объема. Придерживая пергаментный лист за края, осторожно сворачиваем рулет. В процессе слегка прижимайте его пальцами, чтобы выходил лишний воздух.

Точно так делаем второе полено. Убираем их в холодильник на пару часов. Застывшие рулеты освобождаем от пергамента, срезаем ножом неровные края.

Для ганаша подогреваем сливки на слабом огне, растапливаем весь шоколад, вливаем коньяк, хорошо перемешиваем и остужаем.

Рулеты равномерно покрываем шоколадным ганашем, вилкой прорисовываем бороздки, как на коре дерева. Ставим торт в холодильник, чтобы он полностью застыл. Перед подачей посыпаем его сахарной пудрой.

Наше "Рождественское полено" готово!

Вариации этого торта могут быть самыми разными. Вместо шоколадного бисквита можно использовать классический ванильный, а в начинку добавлять ягодный или сливочный крем. Не ограничивайте свою фантазию!

Нежнее, еще нежнее

Вот еще один интересный рецепт торта "Рождественское полено", в котором вообще не используется мука. Текстура рулета получается необыкновенно воздушной и хрустящей.

Ингредиенты для теста:

яйца куриные - 6 шт.

сахар - 150 г

какао-порошок - 50 г

соль - щепотка

корица, кардамон, мускатный орех - по вкусу

сливочное масло - 1 ст. л.

лимонный сок - 1 ч. л.

Крем:

сахарная пудра - 1 ст. л.

сливки 33-35 % - 225 мл

каштановый крем - 250 г

Для декора:

шоколад темный - 2 плитки

Крем лучше сделать заранее - чтобы к моменту приготовления коржа он уже был под рукой. Для крема взбиваем сливки с каштановым кремом и сахарной пудрой в гладкую массу.

Теперь приготовим полено. Отделяем белки от желтков. Желтки тщательно взбиваем с сахаром в густую однородную массу. В процессе добавляем какао и специи. Отдельно взбиваем белки с лимонным соком и щепоткой соли в пышные пики. Соединяем их с жидкой основой, аккуратно вымешиваем. Противень застилаем пергаментом, смазываем сливочным маслом, выкладываем ровным слоем тесто. Выпекаем корж полчаса в духовке при 180 °C. Пока он еще теплый и мягкий, перекладываем его на чистое кухонное полотенце, сворачиваем рулет, остужаем до комнатной температуры.

После этого осторожно раскрываем корж, смазываем внутри кремом и опять заворачиваем в рулет. Для украшения часть шоколада растапливаем на водяной бане, а часть натираем на крупной терке. Рулет полейте шоколадной глазурью и посыпьте шоколадной крошкой.

"Рождественское полено" вполне может стать украшением и вашего праздничного стола. Выбирайте тот вариант, который понравился больше всего. Другие рецепты торта "Рождественского полена" с фото ищите на нашем сайте. Вдохновляйтесь оригинальными идеями, экспериментируйте с начинками и декором, радуйте любимых знаменитым праздничным угощением!

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"Рождественское полено": праздничный французский десерт на вашем столе

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Бисквитный рулет "Рождественское полено", или "Бюш де Нюэль", - главное сладкое угощение, которое французские хозяйки пекут на Рождество с давних пор. Откуда появилась такая традиция? Как приготовить классическое "Рождественское полено" в домашних условиях? Какие его разновидности существуют? Этому и посвящен наш сегодняшний мастер-класс. История "Рождественского полена" начинается в Средние века во Франции.

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Сегодня у учащиеся 2в посетили мастерскую Санта Клауса) 

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Сегодня у учащиеся 2в посетили мастерскую Санта Клауса) 

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Рождественские уроки в 6, 7 и 10 классах: конкурсы, викторины, песни, фильмы, чаепитие и подарки от тайного Санты! Создаём праздничное настроение и готовимся к Новому Году!☃️🌟❄