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= Christmas in Spain﻿ =

====In Spain it is a very festive time at Christmas. On Christmas Eve, as the stars come out, tiny oil lamps are lit in every house, and after Midnight Mass and Christmas Dinner, streets fill with dancers and onlookers. There is a special Christmas dance called the Jota and the words and music have been handed down for hundreds of years. They dance to the sound of guitars and castanets. ==== ====Children think of the Three Wise Man as the gift bearers. Tradition has it that they arrive on January 6th, the date the Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus. ==== ====Shoes are filled with straw or barley for the tired camels that must carry their riders through the busy night. By morning the camel food is gone and in place of the straw or barley are presents. Shoes also may be placed on balconies on the night of the 6th January in the hope that the Wise Men will fill them with gifts. ====

During the weeks before Christmas, families gather around their manger to sing, whilst children play tambourines and dance.
====The Spanish especially honor the cow at Christmas because it is thought that when Mary gave birth to Jesus the cow in the stable breathed on the Baby Jesus to keep him warm. ==== ====Christmas is a deeply religious holiday in Spain. The country's patron saint is the Virgin Mary and the Christmas season officially begins December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is celebrated each year in front of the great Gothic cathedral in Seville with a ceremony called los Seizes or the "dance of six." Oddly, the elaborate ritual dance is now performed by not six but ten elaborately costumed boys. It is a series of precise movements and gestures and is said to be quite moving and beautiful. ==== ====Christmas Eve is known as Nochebuena or "the Good Night." It is a time for family members to gather together to rejoice and feast around the Nativity scenes that are present in nearly every home. A traditional Christmas treats isturron, a kind of almond candy. ==== ====December 28 is the feast of the Holy Innocents. Young boys of a town or village light bonfires and one of them acts as the mayor who orders townspeople to perform civic chores such as sweeping the streets. Refusal to comply results in fines which are used to pay for the celebration. ==== ====The children of Spain receive gifts on the feast of the Epiphany. The Magi are particularly revered in Spain. It is believed that they travel through the countryside reenacting their journey to Bethlehem every year at this time. Children leave their shoes on the windowsills and fill them with straw, carrots, and barley or the horses of the Wise Men. Their favorite is Balthazar who rides a donkey and is the one believed to leave the gifts. ==== ====The Spanish Christmas is Navidad, people go to church, exchange presents, and many play on swing sets set up especially for the occasion. Swinging at solstice time evokes an ancient desire to encourage the sun, urging it to "swing" ever higher in the sky. ====

Christmas info!!!!!

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Christmas is a holiday observed generally on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birthday of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, the date of the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide which lasts 12 days ======

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Although nominally a christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including christ lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several similar mythological figures, known as Saint Nicholas, and Santa among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season. ======

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Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. ======

christmas in Romainia
Carols form an important part of the Romanian folklore. Romanian carols are not simple songs (a sort of invocation in verse sung by children and lads, on the evening of Winters Holidays) with religions origin, but wide windows through which we are allowed once in a year to go by the immaculate snow-towards the evergreen Heaven and to eye-touch God at least for an instant, in order to give us the power to surpass the life's obstacles. Carols put people in the mood for a perfect communion with the simple and healing greatness of Jesus' Birth. The carol singers walk in the streets of the villages and towns holding in their hands a star made of board and paper with biblical scenes painted in water colors and they sing:"Do you receive the pretty star,  Pretty and so very bright? <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> It Haseko we did in the sky <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Just like God thought it would be right, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Stand it could be seen on high, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Just like we did in the sky" <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">On the first Christmas day, children walk in the streets of snow covered towns and villages, when holding in their hands a star made of board and paper with a biblical scenes painted in water colors or an icon showing Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, they sing somewhat of a question: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">"Do you receive the pretty star, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Pretty and so bright? <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> It has appeared on the earth <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Just like God through it would be right <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> And it could be seen on high, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Just like we did, in the sky. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Five days before Christmas with a very sharp knife the pig is cut. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">This custom is called "Ignatius" from Saint Ignatius (celebrated on December the 20th). Straws are put in his snout and then it is covered with burning straws and then is it singed. The pig is nicely washed and covered with a piece of cloth for ten minutes. The housewife comes and incense the pig and then the husband comes and makes the sign of the cross on the pig's head saying to the family gathered around: "Let's eat the pig!" After the pig is cut there is a feast called the pig's funeral feast or alms. At the feast the whole family friends and neighbors take part. All eat the rind or the skin of the bacon and they also eat small pieces of fried pork they drink wine or plum brandy. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Craciun fericit

Mary was sitting in the sun outside her house. it was a normal day, a bit of cooking, a bit of helping around the house. She was having a few minutes rest, when suddenly an angel appeared. “Are you Mary?”, he asked. “Yes, who are you?”, the startled girl replied. “I’m an angel from God”, and I have a surprise for you. You’re going to have a baby.” Mary raised her hand to her mouth. “It would be a surprise, I’m not even married.” The angel knew that Mary was going to marry Joseph. He explained the details. ‘Your child will be the Son of God, he will be loved throughout the world for thousands of years.’ Mary thought she was dreaming. ‘It is hard to understand,’ she said hesitantly, ‘what shall I call the baby?’ ‘His name is Jesus,’ the angel answered. ‘Now I must fly.’ And he was gone. Mary sat for a very long time without saying anything. She thought about all the angel had said, and she prayed a nice thank you to God. ‘Jesus,’ she thought. ‘That’s a nice name.’ Mary married Joseph, and they both left for Bethlehem, where they were going to live. They had to travel a long way, so Mary rode on a donkey while Joseph walked beside her. They arrived in the town at nightfall, and Joseph asked if there was somewhere to stay, because his wife was going to have a baby. Someone said, ‘Try the inn, they rent out rooms.’ They walked down the quiet streets, Joseph was worried about his wife, Mary who was feeling more and more tired. ‘Here we are,’ said Joseph. He told Mary to wait outside while he went in to arrange things. A few minutes later, a miserable Joseph came out. ‘There’s no room at the inn.’ The couple sadly left the inn, and found a stable to sleep in. During the night Mary had her baby, and said to Joseph, ‘He shall be named Jesus,’ Joseph nodded. ‘Lovely,’ he said.

Not so far away, there were some shepherds looking after their sheep. The angel suddenly appeared, and the shepherds looked surprised. The angel said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve come to tell you some happy news. The Son of God has been born in Bethlehem tonight, go and see him.’ To the amazement of the shepherds, the sky was filled with angels singing. ‘Glory to God, and peace to all men.’ ‘Come on lads,’ said one of the shepherds, ‘Let’s go and have a look.’ They found Mary, Joseph and little Jesus just as the angel had said, and while the sheep and cows looked on, the men all prayed to God. The baby lay asleep in a manger, with lots of warm cloths to cover him. In those days there was a King called Herod. He got to hear of Jesus and was worried about it. ‘King of the Jews, eh?’ (For that is what Jesus was called) ‘I’ll give him ÒKing of the Jews.Ó Not if I’ve got anything to do with it.’ He heard that three wise men were going to visit Jesus. They had seen a very bright star in the night sky, and were going to follow it. They knew that it was shining right over the manger. ‘Go and find where he is,’ Herod said to the wise men. ‘I want to worship him.’ As the three men left, Herod chuckled to himself. ‘Worship him!’ he laughed. ‘Get rid of him, more like. King of the Jews indeed. I’m King of the Jews.’ He looked out of the window and shouted to the three wise men. ‘Hurry back, I can’t wait to worship Jesus.’ What a nasty man. The three wise men travelled at night, following the bright star. Finally they arrived, and gave the baby Jesus lots of presents. There was gold, and frankincense and myrrh to make him smell nice. The men worshipped Jesus, and thanked God for sending him to the world. They were just going to go back home when God said, ‘Don’t tell Herod where Jesus is. He wants to hurt him, not worship him.’ ‘Right,’ said the three wise men. ‘We’ll go back a different way.’ And they did, so Herod never found out where Jesus was