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In Colonial America, the Pilgrims of New England disapproved of Christmas. [62] The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World building their first structure in the New World—thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day. [62]
Yule logs. Crackling fireplaces are common themes in Christmas imagery. The symbolism of the roaring fire traces back to the yule log ritual, which originated from a pagan practice predating ...
Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. [165]
Combining Christmas with these ancient celebrations allowed the church to keep the winter holiday tradition while refocusing the party on the “new” religion of Christianity; many of the pagan ...
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. Modern pagan observances are based to varying degrees on folk traditions , regardless of the historical practices of world civilizations . [ 1 ]
Most of China has no religious affiliation, according to the U.S. State Department, and Christmas is not a public holiday, though it is still celebrated by some and has gained popularity since the ...
The Yule log is recorded in the folklore archives of much of England, but particularly in collections covering the West Country and the North Country. [9] For example, in his section regarding "Christmas Observances", J. B. Partridge recorded then-current (1914) Christmas customs in Yorkshire, Britain involving the Yule log as related by "Mrs. Day, Minchinhampton (Gloucestershire), a native of ...
Neapolitan presepio at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. In the 15th century, it was recorded that in London, it was the custom at Christmas for every house and all the parish churches to be "decked with holm, ivy, bays, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green". [4]