christmas
RELIGIOUS PRACTICE AND POPULAR CUSTOMS The Bible provides no guidelines that explain how Christmas should be observed, nor does it even suggest that it should be considered a religious holiday. Because of the lack of biblical instructions, Christmas rituals have been shaped by the religious and popular traditions of each culture that celebrates the holiday. On Christmas Eve, churches around the world hold evening services. At midnight, most Catholic and many Protestant churches hold special candlelight services. The Catholic midnight Mass was first introduced by the Roman Catholic Church in the 5th century. In Greece The Greek Christmas, or Christougenna, pays respect to the Nativity of Christ while also incorporating popular superstitions. On Christmas Eve, Greek children go from house to house knocking on doors and singing Greek songs that tell of the arrival of the Christ child. The family celebration focuses on a Christmas Eve dinner, which, in the Greek Orthodox tradition, follows several weeks of fasting. According to legend, mischievous, often hideous looking elves called Kallikantzaroi wreak havoc in houses for the next 12 days.
Christmas; a merry holiday where caring and generosity are to prevail and the love of many overcomes the hate of few. Certainly, the ideals that this celebration embodies are of the highest order. But why has Christmas come under the fire of many religiously inclined people? Is there any truth to the accusations that this holiday could be displeasing to Christ, the very one in whose name it is celebrated? These questions merit the consideration of anyone who claims to be a worshipper of God. If we don't care of what pleases God, we won't care whether our actions could offend him or not, so the answers to these questions would be ineffectual. But for those of us who are genuinely interested in pleasing our creator... we should adamantly peruse the response to these inquiries. Historians agree that December 25 was not the birthday of Jesus. So if December 25 wasn't the day Jesus was born, then when was he born? And where do we get December 25 from? We got Christmas from the Roman Catholics, and they got it from paganism. But where did the pagans get it? And why did the Catholics take this form of paganism on? It originated in ancient Egypt
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Approximate Word count = 770
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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