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Silent
Night
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The
first instrument on which the carol "Silent Night" was
played was:
A)
A harp
B) A pipe organ
C) A guitar
The
carol was first sung as part of a church service in Oberndorf,
Austria. The unusual choice of guitar for the accompaniment rather
than the traditional church organ has given rise to a number of
picturesque stories (the organ bellows had been damaged by mice;
the organ had been sabotaged; etc.), but in fact it was simply
a matter of preference on the part of the author, Joseph Mohr.
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| Christmas |
 Christmas,
annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
The official Christmas season, popularly known as either Christmastide
or the Twelve Days of Christmas, extends from the anniversary
of Christ's birth on December 25 to the feast of Epiphany on
January 6.
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| The
word Christmas |
|
Christmas entered the English language sometime around
1050 as the Old English phrase Christes maesse, meaning
“festival of Christ.” Scholars believe the frequently
used shortened form of Christmas—Xmas—may have come
into use in the 13th century. The X stands for the Greek
letter chi, an abbreviation of Khristos (Christ),
and also represents the cross on which Jesus was crucified. |
| Santa
Claus |
 As
Christmas evolved in the United States, new customs were adopted
and many old ones were reworked. The legend of Santa Claus,
for example, had origins in Europe and was brought by Dutch
settlers to New York in the early 18th century. Traditionally,
Santa Claus-from the Dutch Sinter Klaas-was depicted
as a tall, dignified, religious figure riding a white horse
through the air. Known as Saint Nicholas in Germany, he was
usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient
children. In North America he eventually developed into a fat,
jolly old gentleman who had neither the religious attributes
of Saint Nicholas nor the strict disciplinarian character of
Black Peter.
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Christmas
Cards |
 The
practice of exchanging Christmas cards also became a widespread
custom in the 19th century. Europeans had distributed wood prints
of religious themes for Christmas during the Middle Ages (5th century
to 15th century). In 1843 English illustrator John Callcott Horsley
created the first modern Christmas card, for Henry Cole. The card
depicted a family celebration and its caption read, "A Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year to You" - picture right. |
Silent
Night is now playing.
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Christmas
Tree
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In 1841 Prince Albert of Germany gave his wife, Queen Victoria
of England, a gift of a Christmas tree. This was reputedly the
first Christmas tree in England, but the custom spread quickly.
German immigrants took the Christmas tree to other parts of
Europe and to the United States and Canada, where it soon became
a popular tradition. Blown-glass ornaments, tin angels, paper
chains, candles, cornucopias filled with sugarplums, and other
decorations made the simple evergreen tree into a beautiful
parlor centerpiece at Christmastime. |
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