Merry Christmas ! Kazakhstan/Shahan/ form 8 English teacher: Bukina Inna Viktorovna Bukin Vitaly and Valeriya Frolova

The history of Christmas Day is closely connected with the birth of Jesus Christ, who is revered as Son of God by the Christians all over the world. Lord Jesus was born in a barn in the little town of Bethlehem. He is hailed as the savior of mankind. Jesus Christ came in this world on the twenty-fifth day of December in the year that is counted as the beginning of our present day calendar. Twenty- fifth December is therefore celebrated as the Christmas Day by the faithful each year.

Christmas In Portugal Christmas Gifts As in any other countries, Christmas in Portugal also hinges on the ritual of gift-giving, the most important part of the celebrations. This is done to continue the tradition of the three Wise Men who brought gifts for the infant Jesus. Interestingly, this gift-giving tradition is carried out in a special way. On the Epiphany Eve, i.e. on 5th January, children fill their shoes with straw and carrots to attract the horses of the three Wise Men, who, they believe, have lots of gifts with them. Next morning, with great enthusiasm, they collect their gifts which usually consist of candies, fruits, sweet breads and other goodies.

Christmas In United States Of America Celebrations Since Christmas Eve is not an official holiday in America, offices hold celebrations and parties is spread cheer and joy. But, schools and universities are closed, because of which children take part in the merriment and help their parents with decorations. Roman Catholics attend midnight masses and participate in carols singing. Protestant churches conduct special services with the famous 'manger scene'. As per tradition, children hang up stockings before going to bed on Christmas Eve hoping that Santa would fill it with presents.

Christmas in Ukraine Church services start before midnight on Christmas Eve and continue until Christmas mornings. In the past, Father Frost used to bring gifts to Ukrainian children on 19th of December but now the date has been changed to the Christmas date. He rides a sleigh to which only three reindeers are harnessed. Snowflake Girl helps Father Frost in his journey. She wears silver blue costume trimmed with white fur and a snowflake-like crown. Traditional Ukrainian Christmas customs were full of colors and gaiety. Christmas was celebrated on 7th of January here as a peaceful and quiet event to remind us of the Christ born in Bethlehem.

Christmas In Russia Christmas Feast Russian Christmas feast is very special because of the number of dishes. It is a 12 course dinner with one course each for 12 apostles. The menu includes fish, beet soup, stuffed cabbage, dry fruits and other delicacies. Members of the family gather around the table and pay reverence to the son of God. The tablecloth used is traditionally white and symbolizes the swaddling cloth of infant Jesus and also the poverty of the place where he is believed to have taken birth. A candle placed at the middle of the table symbolizes that "Christ is the light of the world". Special lantern bread called "pagach" is also placed on the table symbolizing that "Christ is the bread of life".

Christmas In Germany Lavish Feast The lavish feast on the eve of Christmas includes delicious suckling pig, white sausages, macaroni salad, sweet cinnamon and many regional dishes. Considering that a German saying suggests that people who do not eat properly will be haunted by the demons at night, it is easy to ascertain the Germans fill themselves up to the brim on this feast. The trend of heavy feasts continues all the way to the Christmas day when various delightful traditional dishes like the plump roast goose, long bread loaves stuffed with nuts and raisins are served. A boar's head is served at most of the feasts as a sacrifice to the German God Frey, who takes care of the well-being of the livestock. However, later on, as the boar was difficult to find, and it took a week's time to cook, it was replaced by pork, turkey and goose.

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