When you ask someone to define what’s special about Christmas you will often get a variety of different answers. Many people celebrate Christmas in many different ways and Christmas symbolises different things to people. For some folks, Christmas is about celebrating Christianity, for others it’s about family time and for others it’s about giving and receiving etc! If you type in into Google “Christmas” the first result that shows is the trusted Wikipedia Christmas page that defines Christmas as the following:
Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday[5][6][7] generally observed on December 25 (with alternative days of January 6, 7 and 19[2]) to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity.[8][9] The exact birthday of Jesus is not known, and historians place his year of birth some time between 7 BC and 2 BC. Narratives of his birth are included in two of the Canonical gospels in the New Testament of the Bible.
The date of Christmas, chosen by the Roman Catholic Church in the 4th century, may have initially been selected to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after Christians believe Jesus to have been conceived,[10] the date of the Roman winter solstice,[11] or one of various ancient winter festivals.[10][12] Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.[13]
Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians worldwide,[1][14][15] 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 Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus, among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.[16]
(Source: See full Wikipedia Christmas page).
With a strong religious grounding, Christmas is celebrated by many countries around the world including countries with different religions such as India. There’s all sorts of things that get us into the Christmas spirit and for us folks here at Ace Fancy Dress there’s nothing like Christmas music to get you into the Christmas mood. Although dated, the following is a poll from the “This Is London” website that suggest the following as the top 20 of all time:
Top 20 Christmas songs
1. Fairytale Of New York , The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (1987)
2. Do They Know Its Christmas?, Band Aid 1984
3. Last Christmas, Wham! 1984
4. Merry Xmas Everybody, Slade (1973)
5. Do They Know It’s Christmas, Band Aid 20 (2004)
6. All I Want For Christmas is You, Mariah Carey (1994)
7. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, Wizzard (1973)
8. White Christmas, Bing Crosby (1977)
9. Happy X-mas (War Is Over), John Lennon (1972)
10. Stay Another Day, East 17 (1994)
11. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End), The Darkness (2003)
12. Mistletoe and Wine, Cliff Richard (1988)
13. Step Into Christmas, Elton John (1973)
14. Lonely This Christmas, MUD (1974)
15. Power Of Love , Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984)
16. Little Drummer Boy, David Bowie / Bing Crosby (1982)
17. Do They know It’s Christmas, Band Aid 2 (1989)
18. Wonderful Christmas Time, Paul McCartney (1979)
19. Walking In The Air, Aled Jones (1985)
20. Please Come Home For Christmas, Bon Jovi (1994)
end
(Full article).
Having polled a vote with the staff here at Ace Fancy Dress, here’s our vote for the top three Christmas songs of all time:
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2.
3.
Soon we’re going to poll a vote on our Facebook wall to find out which song out of three above is the most popular with you lot so keep an eye out on the blog.
As we approach December we can report that our Christmas costumes are selling quicker than hot cakes and our selection of new Christmas lines are proving extremely popular which is good news for the merchandise team here! If you’re looking for some Christmas fancy dress ideas then be sure to visit our Christmas page. You will find an extensive collection of costumes for men, women and children along with some cool Christmas accessories.
Now sit back and enjoy the sounds of the Christmas songs above and get into the Christmas spirit!
