Christmas
Maybe one of most excited holidays. Everyone likes Christmas and Christmas Eve - some because they shouldn’t work, some - because they get a lot of beautiful presents. In Lithuania everyone celebrates Christmas together with their families. But it’s not like that in other countries. For example, in Belgium Christmas are celebrated mostly by young people - they go to the coffees, to the towns, discos. It’s like New Year in Lithuania. Actually, a Christian feast commemorates the birth of Jesus. This feast is celebrated on the 25th of December. The name ‘Christmas’ came from middle English Cristemas, from Old English Crìstes mæsse, Christ's festival. In the Christian calendar, it ranks after EASTER, PENTECOST, and EPIPHANY in liturgical importance and was not widespread until the 4th cent. The customs of the caroling, mistletoe, and gifts at Christmas are English. Elsewhere, gifts are given at other times, as at Epiphany in Spain. Christmas cards appeared c.1846. The concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in 19th-cent. New York City. The Christmas tree was a medieval German tradition. Midnight Mass is a familiar religious observance among Roman Catholics and some Protestants.