Good afternoon dear teachers and pupils
Good afternoon dear teachers and pupils!
Today is a special day for us, as we are going to be familiar with the main holiday of England. And how do you think “What is this?” Yes, you are quite right. It’s Christmas. So our today’s lesson is called “Customs and traditions of Christmas”. So first of all let’s discover what is Christmas?
What is Christmas?
The word Christmas comes from the old English “Cristes maesse” meaning Christ’s Mass. The Holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The actual birthday of Jesus is not known; therefore, the early Church Fathers in the 4th century fixed the day around the old Roman Saturnalia festival (17 – 21 December), a traditional pagan festivity. The first mention of the birthday of Jesus is from the year 354 AD. Gradually all Christian churches, except Armenians who celebrate Christmas on January 6 (the date of the baptism of Jesus as well as the day of the three Magi), accepted the date of December 25th. (3 min)