King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later returns to Nazareth. By day, the elegant rooms of Biltmore House shimmer, beautifully bedecked with Christmas trees, ribbons, garlands, and thousands of twinkling lights. Simple and creative use of Christmas décor makes decorating for the holidays a snap. The whole family will love the results and you’ll be able to use the Christmas products year after year. Keep in touch through the Grapevine to receive special offers and news about events.
Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare Christians for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world. Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem; in that country it is known in Spanish as the Flower of the Holy Night. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century by the German-born Queen Charlotte.
The lack of a consistent system of timekeeping in the first century, mistakes in later calendars and calculations, and lack of historical details to cross-reference events have led to this imprecision in fixing Jesus’ birth. This suggests that the Christmas celebration is not an observance of a historical date, but a commemoration of the event in terms of worship. In most European countries, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, December 24, in keeping with the notion that the baby Jesus was born on the night of the 24th. The morning of December 25, however, has become the time for the exchange of gifts in North America. In 17th- and 18th-century Europe the modest exchange of gifts took place in the early hours of the 25th when the family returned home from the Christmas mass.
With the season of giving in mind, we’ve collected our best homemade Christmas gift ideas and curated gift guides for everyone on your list. The celebration of Christmas may date to around the year 200, but it did not become widespread as a holiday until much later, around the Middle Ages. Today, Christians often attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. On Christmas, people exchange gifts based on the Christian tradition associated with Saint Nicholas, and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were given to the baby Jesus by the Magi. Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places.
Capture the joyful magic of the Christmas season with Santa and his elves as they prepare for the biggest night of the year. Make a magical trip with Santa Claus as he delivers gifts around the world – ensuring every child will find joy under the Christmas tree. The colors of the Christmas season are on glorious display with Yuletide Window, a radiant collection of iconic animated stained glass-displays. The spirit of Jacob Marley returns in this nod to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – at once a harrowing ghost story and a message of holiday grace. One reason may be that not all consumers are happy with the supersized shopping season. From real, live Christmas trees to fake Christmas trees, from tall Christmas trees to small Christmas trees – we have the right tree for your family’s style and budget.
Although the month and date of Jesus’ birth are unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25. This corresponds to the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar. It is exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus’ exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.
We have a wide range of Christmas ornaments to fill your tree with color and charm. From Christmas dinnerware, serveware and bakeware to table linens and home décor, we have enough Christmas products to turn your home into a winter wonderland. Spread the holiday excitement by making a calendar filled with sweet surprises for the month.
At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on crucifixes as a protest against the holiday. It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that the persecution ended and Orthodox Christmas became a state holiday again for the first time in Russia after seven decades. Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehaviour, the Puritans banned Christmas in England in the 17th century. It was restored as a legal holiday in 1660, but remained disreputable.