Christmas Eve - Enjoy at Fullest

Christmas Eve is the evening of the day before Christmas. It commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. There is a celebratory air to this evening. Christmas Eve is not a national holiday. Still, schools and other educational establishments are usually closed. People decorate their homes with seasonal decorations. Just before bedtime, many families, mostly those with children hang up stockings on the fireplace or at the end of their bed. Christmas Eve is the time to celebrate, rejoice, honor the birth of Jesus and realize the depth of the Christmas message which is love, modesty, peace and hope.

The beginning of the holiday season at the end of the year is marked with Christmas Eve. Many Christians remember the events around the birth of Jesus on this eve. As a tradition, as soon as the Christmas Eve ends and Christmas arrives, a midnight mass at church is especially attended by the Roman Catholics. Now-a-days, there are several churches that hold a church service in the early part of the Christmas Eve. Special services on Christmas Eve are also held by numerous Protestant churches. No matter whether the church is Roman Catholic or Protestant, each and every church is beautifully decorated on Christmas Eve. These decorations include presentation of a crib scene depicting the holy family, with statues representing Mother Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds and various animals that were present in the stable where Jesus was born.

Church services on Christmas Eve hold many programs that are related to Christmas. People go to each other’s home singing carols. During the church service, the priest delivers a meaningful sermon and Christmas carols are delightfully sung. Many people donate their time to charity. Traditionally, Christmas Eve meals in America are ham or fowl. Some families like to have light meal and serve soup and crackers. Mostly people have nice sausage and cheese for delicious snacks and appetizers. People visit their friends and relatives and exchange gifts and cards.

You can browse our website-Dgreetings for ideas regarding, celebrations, gifts and the like for Christmas season. This year, grab an opportunity to take comfort in Jesus and the special gift He has given to all mankind on the Christmas Eve.

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Have a Scary Samhain

Samhain marks one doorway out of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. The Celts separated the year into two seasons: the light and the dark; at Beltane and Samhain. People believed that whisperings of new beginnings are heard clearly in dark silence. The most magically effective time of this festival is the night of 31st October, today known as Halloween.

Literally Samhain means ‘summer’s end’. The night before this day became famous as Halloween. On 2nd November All Souls Day started to be observed and people worshipped for all souls who were waiting to enter heaven. Throughout the centuries, Christian and Pagan beliefs got interlaced in a gallimaufry of celebrations.

Approximately around eighth century or so, Catholics decided to use 1st November as All Saints Day. This was actually a quite smart action on their part. The reason was the local Pagans were already celebrating that day, so it was sensible to use it as a church holiday. All Saints’ Day became the festival to tribute any saint who did not already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was delivered on All Saints Day was called All Hallowmas – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before All Saints’ Day naturally became known as All Hallows Eve and finally morphed into an event what we call Halloween today.

The Celtic New Year commences with the sunset on Samhain. The old year is over, the harvest has been gathered, cattle and sheep have been brought in and leaves have fallen from trees. The earth around us steadily begins to die. At this time people look at wrapping up the old things in life that are still unresolved. So that when the incomplete stuff clears away, you can start looking towards the next year.

For some people, Samhain is the time to honor their ancestors. Samhain gives you the perfect night to celebrate the memory of your dear ones who have died in the past year. If you are lucky enough, your ancestors will return to converse with you from beyond the veil. They also advice you, guide you and offer protection for the forthcoming year.

Samhain is a harvest festival which has its primordial roots in Celtic polytheism. This harvest festival was associated to other festivals that took place around the same time in other cultures of the Celts. The celebration of this festival continued in late medieval times. Samhain actually refers to the portion of the holiday on 1st November.

If you desire to observe Samhain in the Celtic tradition, extend the festivities for over three successive days. You can have a ritual and a banquet every night. As far as Samhain rituals are concerned they are End of the harvest, ritual for animals, holding a séance, honoring the ancestors, holding a dumb supper, celebrating the cycle of life and death, honoring God and Goddesses and ancestor meditation. Now, you are fully acquainted with Samhain, have a nice time on this occasion this year.

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