For 2019, the average US adult was projected to spend $920 on gifts alone. In the UK in 2010, up to £8 billion was expected to be spent online at Christmas, approximately a quarter of total retail festive sales. Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees. A prominent phrase from the tale, “Merry Christmas”, was popularized following the appearance of the story.
The earliest extant specifically Christmas hymns appear in fourth-century Rome. Latin hymns such as “Veni redemptor gentium”, written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. “Corde natus ex Parentis” (“Of the Father’s love begotten”) by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.
League football matches continued in Scotland until the 1970s while in England they ceased at the end of the 1950s. In Colonial America, the Pilgrims of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World working – thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day. Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England. The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region. Following the Protestant Reformation, many of the new denominations, including the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, continued to celebrate Christmas.
The songs now known specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as “harvest tide” as well as Christmas. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like “Personent hodie”, “Good King Wenceslas”, and “The Holly and the Ivy” can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages. “Adeste Fideles” appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.
In Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger. Angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him.
Shoppers can discover 1.8 million square feet of joy at Grapevine Mills or stroll alongHistoric Main Streetand marvel at the Christmas décor while checking off their holiday shopping list with all the charming gifts local stores have to offer. Attend one of the many classic Christmas events, including theHistoric Palace Theatre, home to live performances and beloved classic Christmas Movies, presented by Park Place Lexus Land Rover Jaguar Grapevine, all season long. From home workout equipment to fashionable activewear and accessories, we rounded up everything you and your loved ones need to break a sweat this holiday season. One of the Southeast’s largest and most-anticipated holiday traditions, Speedway Christmas features four million lights strewn across a remarkable four-mile course, with hundreds of creative displays and lights synchronized to Christmas-themed music.