Welcome to Kimberley's Christmas!
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Merry Christmas! Welcome to my Christmas website full of lots of interesting information and treats! Christmas is my favourite time of year; It's a time you spend with family enjoying lavish meals, baking cookies and singing songs! For some of my favourite recipes check out my recipes page for lots of special holiday treats! I also managed to gather an 'exclusive' list of Santa's "Top 10 All-Time Favourite Christmas Songs"! Have a look at my lyrics page for a peek at these songs and their lyrics. You'll be singing along in no-time! Write your letter to Santa online this year. Go to the Write a Letter to Santa page to fill out your letter that's sent directly to Santa's personal email! It's instant! Just like that! For links to other great Christmas websites, check out my links page. You may be surprised at what you will find! There's lot's of different resources out there to make your Christmas extra magical! |
Have a look at the page below for some of the background history on Christmas including The Story of Christmas, The Story of Saint Nicholas and The Story of the Christmas Tree. All three are great stories to share with everyone- young and old alike! These stories can be found in a great book called 'Treasury of Christmas', edited by John C. Miles.
Enjoy your stay! If you have any suggestions what you would like to see, or any comments in general, please feel free to email me. I would love to hear from you!
From my family to yours - Merry Christmas!
The Story of Christmas
Every year, people all over the world celebrate Christmas, the birthday of a little boy named Jesus. This is the story of his birth.
A long time ago, a young woman named Mary lived in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. She was engaged to marry a carpenter named Joseph. One day, when Mary was all alone, a brilliant light suddenly shown down on her from the sky. She was frightened, but a gentle voice said to her, “Do no be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.” It was the angel Gabriel, sent by God. “Behold, you will bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be the Saviour of all the people.” Then Gabriel and the light were gone.
Months later, when Mary’s baby was almost due, the Roman emperor ordered all the people in the land to go back to the place where they were born. He wanted to count them, so he could know exactly how many people lived in his land.
Joseph came from Bethlehem, so he and Mary went there together. But when they reached the city, they found it crowded with people. There was no place for them to stay. Finally, an innkeeper told them they could sleep in his stable.
Jesus was born that night in the stable. Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.
That same night, some shepherds were tending their sheep nearby when an angel of God appeared. “Don’t be afraid,” said the angel, “for I bring you tidings of great joy. Tonight your Saviour was born. Go to Bethlehem, where you will find the baby lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the air was filled with a chorus of angels singing:
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.”
When the angels had gone, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem. They found Mary, Joseph and the baby in the stable. The shepherds knelt down and worshiped Jesus, for they knew that the angel’s words were true.
When they left the stable, the shepherds ran through the town. They told everyone the wonders they had seen.
Back to TopThe Story of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop. He lived in the city of Myra (now in Turkey) many hundreds of years ago. Nicholas was well known in his lifetime as someone who liked to do good. He especially liked to help people secretly.
There is one famous legend about Saint Nicholas. The story tells of Nicholas hearing one day of three beautiful sisters who lived in a miserable hut on the edge of Myra.
The three sisters were very poor. They could barely earn enough to keep themselves and their old mother from starving to death. When Nicholas heard of their plight, he was very concerned. He decided to do something to help them.
One night, when everyone was asleep, Nicholas crept through the streets to the edge of town. Quietly, he tiptoed up to the hut where the three sisters lived. He climbed onto the roof and dropped three bags of gold through the hole in the roof where the smoke from the fire came out.
Now it so happened that the three sisters had washed their stockings before they went to bed. The stockings had been hung by the fire to dry. When Nicholas dropped the gold through the smoke hole, each bad of gold fell into a stocking.
The three sisters were overjoyed to find bags of gold in their stockings when they woke up the next morning. Soon, the story began to spread. Other people began to hang up stockings in the hope of finding bags of gold when they woke up in the morning.
From this legend sprang the custom of hanging stockings up by the chimney on Christmas Eve. Over the years, Saint Nicholas became associated with Christmas. In some cultures, he is a jolly man named Santa Claus. In other cultures, he is still a kindly bishop or saint.
Back to TopThe Story of the Christmas Tree
People often wonder where the custom of having a tree in the home during Christmas time comes from. We will probably never know for sure. But there are several historical clues that point out where this custom came from.
An Ancient Symbol
Thousands of years ago, there were people who believed that evergreen trees were magical. Even in winter, when all the other trees and greenery were brown and bare, the evergreen stayed strong and green. People saw the evergreen as a symbol of life and as a sure sign that sunshine and spring would soon return. Candles, or the electric lights we use to decorate our trees today, are also an ancient symbol. They represent the light of spring triumphing over the darkness of winter.
In ancient Rome, people decorated their homes and their temples with greenery during a special December feast. It was a happy time. No battles could be fought, the schools were closed, and people everywhere joined in the carnival-like atmosphere and gave each other presents.
The Modern Tree
So when did the Christmas tree go indoors? Legend has it that the tradition was begun by Martin Luther in Germany. He was a monk and church reformer who lived from 1483 to 1546. According to the legend, Luther was returning home one wintry night when he saw the stars twinkling in the sky through the tree branches. Luther was amazed by the sight, and when he arrived home, he was eager to tell his family about it. To help them understand, he went to the woods and cut down a small fir tree. Luther brought it indoors and decorated it with candles, which represented the stars he had seen.
The custom spread in Germany, and from there all over the world. In England, the Christmas tree first appeared when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, who was German. In 1841, Albert set up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle near London to remind him on his homeland. The Christmas tree custom was brought to the United States by people from England as well as many German immigrants who came in the 1880s. Whatever its origin, the Christmas tree is a beautiful symbol for everyone who celebrates Christmas.
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