High on festive apirits
Christmas is a time of grand celebrations, good cheer, Santa Claus, gifts, yummy delicacies, carols and so much more... Coordinators fill in the details The Evergreen StoryAs soon as one hears the word Christmas what is the first image that comes to mind? Isn’t it of a Christmas tree adorned with little bells and streamers, standing gaily in white snow? Similarly, as soon as we see a Christmas tree, our heart leaps in joy for we know that Christmas is here. Christmas and Christmas trees are indeed so deeply related to each other that it is hard to imagine one without the other. It is as if they were always together like two best friends, each symbolising the other. But do you know how Christmas trees had their origin and how the tradition of decorating trees on the eve of Christmas, began?Apparently Christmas trees were popular among the Europeans long before the advent of Christianity. In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on 21 or 22 December and is called the Winter Solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs of birch, pine and spruce reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return. Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.It was the Germans who first introduced the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking towards his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.But this tradition of decorating evergreen trees on the eve of Christmas was not accepted very eagerly by the orthodox Roman Catholic, who opposed it vehemently calling it a “Pagan mockery’’. Incidentally Pagan was a religion antagonistic to Christianity. In fact in 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law prohibiting Christians from hanging decorations and erecting Christmas Trees in their homes on 25 December. This stern solemnity continued till 19th century. In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Queen Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas Tree had arrived. The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colours and interlaced with berries and nuts. Soon this creative tradition spread world wide in all the countries were Christmas is celebrated and Christmas trees became an indispensable part of this lovely festival.Far, far away in Christmas Island…You have surely heard about Christmas trees, Christmas carols and Christmas gifts… but have you ever heard of Christmas Island? If you are thinking that this is an island where Christmas is celebrated all year round then you are quite mistaken. So, what is his Christmas Island? Read on…It is an island in the Indian Ocean, about 224 miles (360 km) south of the island of Java and 870 miles (1,400 km) northwest of Australia; it is administered as an external territory of Australia. It has an area of 52 square miles (135 square km) and comprises the summit of an oceanic mountain. The highest point on the island is Murray Hill, rising to 1,184 feet (361 m) above sea level in the western part of the island. The main settlement and chief port is at Flying Fish Cove on the northeastern part of the island. The island was first sighted in 1615 by Richard Rowe, master of the Thomas. The island was named on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company. The population, only one-third of which is female, includes about 73 percent Chinese and 9 percent Malay laborers recruited mainly from Malaysia, Singapore, and the Cocas (Keeling) Islands. There are also Australian management personnel. Most of the island’s residents traditionally have been employees of the Phosphate Mining Company of Christmas Island, Ltd., which is owned by the Australian government. The territory’s economy, based almost entirely on the mining and extraction of phosphate there for shipment to Australia and New Zealand, was undergoing change in the early 1990s. The recoverable reserves of phosphate were nearly exhausted, and other economic activities, such as tourism, had yet to be developed. Small-scale subsistence cropping and fishing are practiced, but most food is imported.DEBADRITA BHATTACHARYA, Carmel School
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment