(no subject)

[can_be_more]

Explain this holiday to me now, please. You know the one. The one with snow and trees and overweight men in bad suits with worse facial hair. I'm new! I don't know these things!

Comments

[can_be_more]

Cards? Decorating trees?

[the-ascended.livejournal.com]

Christmas cards were first introduced in Victorian England... that was about a hundred and fifty years ago in a country on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. A man called Sir Henry Cole sent the first Christmas cards, because he didn't have time to write to all his friends and family. Instead, he commissioned John Callcott Horsley to design a card with a single message on that he could send out. They're still used today to send out messages wishing you happy holidays, and I do believe it's the largest holiday of the year for card giving.

Decorating trees... ah, well, that has it's roots in Pagan ceremonies as well. But it didn't become popular until Queen Victoria, who was the Queen of England during the Victorian era I just spoke about, had one and she and her family were sketched about it.

They're evergreen trees because of the pagan beliefs - that the sun god would return stronger and green plants would grow again as summer returned. Decorating the trees in pagan times was in honor to their gods.