It’s December.
It means Christmas, and Christmas means…
What does it mean?
I really don’t know.
Everybody has a different meaning of Christmas.
What’s yours?
We asked some boys and girls what Christmas is for them:
“Christmas for me is family for two reasons: a religion time for Jesus’ birth and the second one is ‘cause at Christmas my family and I spend it all together”
“A festivity where we kill each other for one ambo and where my family and I stay all together, unwrap our presents and eat all together”
Red, green, white, gold, sometimes blue.. They are colours that remind of Christmas, don’t they?
The fire, the snow, the decorations, the cold season… are some things that are part of it, because they make a warmth in our hearts, because Christmas is the season to stay together happily.
Do you have any traditions?
“First we play bingo and we do a ranking and when it is midnight we remove an hankie which is used to cover Jesus in the manger and then the adults play Briscola and the kids play with the gift that they received”
“We always do the “Christmas tour”. Every year we change the house where we spend Christmas. We also sing together with my aunt, who plays the piano. After that we unwrap our presents and then we play tables games and we do a ranking and the winner wins the “Christmas Glory”
Everybody has his own tradition.
But now, let’s talk a little about its history …
Christmas is a Christian festivity that remembers the birth of Jesus Christ, but it is a mix of an ancient Roman festivity and a Chistian one. What do I mean? I mean that in the Roman Empire, the Romans celebrated a festivity for the (wrong) winter solstice on December 25th, and the Christian celebrated the birth of Jesus on January 6th. When the Christian religion became the official religion of the Roman Empire, they combinated the festivities and made it only one: the Christmas that we all know today. In fact giving presents is from the Roman festivity and the tradition of Jesus’s birth are, obviously, from the Christian one.
After thousands and thousands of years, it changed a little. Traditions changed in some countries and families! Sweets, bingo, the same Christmas tree, Christmas song, creche…
But after this little, boring part of history, if don’t you have anything to do?
There are a lot of ideas out there!
You can listen to music and sing it all day…
What’s your favourite?
“Astro Del Ciel, Jingle Bells and Last Christmas”
“Thank God It’s Christmas”
“War Is Over, Wonderful Christmastime”
Do you cook on Christmas day?
“No”
“No, my mother cooks”
“No, but in the past I did some biscuits for school”
Here is a recipe that you can make all alone or with your family!
And for kids?
Obviously, Christmas Chores!
Like, Snowmans made with old socks!
Just take an old sock, put in it some wadding, tie something, like a rubber band or a little string, in the middle, add some decoration like buttons,ribbons and… voilà.
Here is your made-at-home snowman!
Don’t forget to make his eyes and his nose please!
And, if don’t you have an old sock?
Do you have anything to wear right?
And if you have it, you will probably have some clothespins, right?
Take one of them (without being seen from your mom, she will be angry), take some felt-pens, buttons, ribbons (if you have them, little pom-poms too), make a big red nose (with the pom-pom or red felt-pen), some eyes (with the buttons or just with the felt-pens), tie a ribbon around the clothespin, a little bit under the nose, draw the legs and… here is you clothespin reindeer!
There are a lot of ideas out there… go to search more of them, or just invent them for fun! Don’t stay with that smartphone all day, make something new!
But remember, it’s Christmas, just, be happy.
Have a great Christmas!
Sofia Duranti – Chloè Baffi – Guendalina Cacace – Leonardo Ghilardi
