The Conservatives have announced that they have officially cancelled Christmas pantomimes, the switching on of Christmas lights and even the traditional Nativity school play. These are just a few of the festivities cancelled. They are even mandating how many of our friends and family members can share Christmas dinner in our own homes, even who we can and cannot hug.
A Guide to Christmas Markets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries.
The ancient origins of Christmas tradition are deep-rooted in European culture. The threads unwrap the magic of this sacred time of the year and their contents can be enjoyed completely free of charge or commitment.
In Britain, the couple was banned from turning on Christmas lights worth $ 27 000. Too many people wanted to see their beautiful scenery.
This time of year, there are Christmas wreaths adorning everywhere imaginable—from doors and fences to lampposts and windows—even the front grille of the car! How did a round bit of greenery come to symbolize the holidays?
Saint Lucy’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-4th-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution,who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle lit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast day, which coincided with the shortest day of the year prior to calendar reforms, is widely celebrated as a festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy’s Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on Christmas Day.
Four days before Christmas, the sky will offer a sight that hasn’t been seen since the Middle Ages and may have inspired one of the Bible’s most famous stories. The two largest planets in the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, will be so close to one another in the sky on Dec. 21 that they will appear to be fused into a single point of light.
The ancient Spanish city of Salamanca, situated on the banks of the River Tormes, is one of the oldest university towns in Europe with a rich and elegant collection of Renaissance, Roman, Gothic and Baroque monuments. Among them are two majestic cathedrals built between the 12th and 18th centuries. The New Cathedral, constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries, features late Gothic style with a Baroque styled cupola. The cathedral’s vaulted stone ceilings contain graceful paintings and its sandstone walls are intricately carved. But one element is peculiarly out of place and out of time.
Advent — the four weeks leading up to Christmas — begins this year, in 2020 on Sunday, 29 November.
There are beautiful and rich traditions behind the celebration of Advent. Let’s take a deeper look at the focus and themes of each week of Advent and some of the traditions celebrated around the world during the Advent season.
In the German-speaking countries, Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest celebration called Erntedank or Erntedankfest (“harvest thanksgiving festival”). The observance usually takes place in September or October, depending on the region. Similar harvest festivals are common in many countries and regions around the globe.
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