Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Christmas and New Year season is probably the most exciting time of the year. For most people Christmas means spending time with your family and visiting relatives and friends. For children, Christmas means presents from Santa Claus under the Christmas tree and the more the better.
Christmas is more and more commercialised every year. However it still has a religious meaning and importance for some people. This is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ hence the name Christmas. Christmas is traditionally meant to be ‘the season of goodwill’ and for some people this is still true. But nowadays, Christmas is mostly about presents, Christmas tree, snow, good television and parties.
Traditionally the giving of a gift is symbolic of the Three Wise Men giving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrth to the baby Jesus. Some people try to buy special gifts for their friends and family. However the majority of people are too stressed to think for a special gift so in the end thy buy ‘smellies’ (beauty products), chocolates, wine and books.
Christmas presents are exchanged on 25th December and families get together for a special meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and vegetables. This is my favourite day of the year! We all have a really good time! The 26th December is known as Boxing Day. Some people also have a special meal on Boxing Day.
The next few days are for rest. Then on the 31st December things are busy again. This is New Year’s Eve, known in Scotland as Hogmanay. One of the most important traditions is cleaning your house from top to bottom which in theory means your house will be clean all the next year. Children are allowed to stay up for the bells at midnight to ‘see in the new year’. We have an alcoholic drink and some shortbread or Madeira cake. On 1st January, New Year’s Day, it is traditional to visit all of your family and then have another special dinner.

The Origins of Halloween

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic celebration called Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celtic people lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France over 2.000 years ago. The Celtic New Year began on November 1. Samhain was a festivity that celebrated the end of summer and the harvest season on the day before the new year. During this festival, the Celts would wear costumes and try to tell each other their future.
By the time Christianity had spread to the region in the ninth century A.D., Nov. 1st had been designated All Saints Day or All-hallows. The day before, October 31st, was referred to as All-hallows. The day before, October 31st, was referred to as All-hallows Eve. It is now simply called Halloween.