About Christmas Eve/ Heilige Nacht …
Just how much do we know about Christmas Eve?
Is it just the evening or the entire day before Christmas Day? Or, does everyone see it as a special time to go to church, open gifts and celebrate the birth of Jesus?
According to www.christianity.com, “For centuries, Christmas was celebrated not as a single day, but as a whole season in parts of the world, beginning with this day, December 24, Christmas Eve.
Furthermore, “Christmas” means “Christ mass.” Although the date is a guess, the tradition of observing it goes back to at least the fourth century. Christmas Eve (the evening before Christmas Day) was then celebrated with roaring fires, story-telling, feasting, drinking, dancing, and sometimes clowning.
The idea of Jesus being born at night is reflected in the fact that Christmas Eve is referred to as Heilige Nacht (Holy Night) in German, Nochebuena (the Good Night) in Spanish and similarly in other expressions of Christmas spirituality, such as the song Silent Night, Holy Night.
Another source, www.history.com, mentioned a few facts about Christmas the Herald thought were interesting:
• Almost 35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States of America alone. What’s amazing is that trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
• Greek and Russian orthodox churches celebrated Christmas 13 days after the 25th – referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the Three Wise Men finally found Jesus in the manger.
• Christmas celebrations in the Medieval Period (said to be from the 5th to the 15th century) were rowdy and raucous – something similar to today’s Mardi Gras parties.
Then the question on everyone’s lips is where leaving milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve comes from? Well, it seems almost everyone has the tradition and there is no particular reason behind it.
• Sources: https://www.christianity.com and https://www.history.com
