Christmas : A special night

By the end of December the days start to get longer. It's the winter solstice. Since forever, people have celebrated this time of year. At the times of the first christians, the Romans celebrated Mithra, the god of the sun, on december 25th. There is no official document precising the birth of Jesus, so the christians chose this festive day to celebrate it.

Christmas has quickly gained popularity. Different kinds of celebrations evolved with time. In the middle ages, for example, people celebrated in the streets for 12 days. Then it became more of a family occasion. After the 19th century people started exchanging gifts.

Today, christian or not, people celebrate Christmas in every continent.

In many countries, children look forward to Santa Claus' visit. The various stories talk about a bearded old man distributing presents. In 1882 Clement Clark Moore describes him for the first time and Thomas Nast paints him in 1860. His appearance is so characteristic nowadays that nobody could not imagine him differently.

However, he's not the only one to bring presents...

• In eastern France, Germany and Belgium people celebrate Saint Nicolas.
• In Russia children expect the visit of father Gel, accompanied by an old lady, Babouchka.
• In Italy it's Befana who comes to earth on her magic broom.

This Christmas forget your quarrels and reconcile with people around you, think of those who are lonely, decorate your houses, make + receive gifts and

HAVE LOTS OF FUN!!!!!!!!