This lesson is about Christmas. It includes Christmas vocabulary and some facts and customs followed by people during Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. It is the birth anniversary of Lord Jesus. And December 24th is the Christmas Eve. Most of the streets are decorated with lights and also the malls or public places have huge Christmas trees and the shopping hours are made longer too.

Christmas English Vocabulary:

Advent -- The coming of Jesus Christ, It is the month that leads to Christmas.

Chimney -- A vertical pipe in a house that allows the smoke and gases to escape. Santa traditionally enters a house through chimney.

Christmas Carols -- Religious songs or popular hymns that people sing during Christmas

Egg-nog -- It's a traditional drink made of alcohol with beaten egg and milk.

Holly -- An evergreen plant with prickly green leaves and bright red berries.

Star of Bethlehem -- The star that announced the birth of Jesus and guided the wise men to find him.

Sleigh -- it's a sledge or a light cart pulled by reindeer over the snow.

White Christmas -- A Christmas with snow on the ground.

Parade -- An organised procession consisting of performances, exhibits, etc displayed by moving down a street past a crowd.

Merry Christmas - Happy holidays and Season's Greetings are the different ways to wish people during Christmas.

The Traditions or the customs followed by the people are:

Setting up the Christmas crib: it is the custom in many churches and houses to set up a crib which is the scene of Nativity or the birth of Jesus. The first scene was set by St Francis of Assisi. Nativity scenes can be large with life sized statues or even the tiny ones that helps to represent the story of the birth of Lord Jesus. The crib is made of many different things such as carved wood , bright coloured pottery, decorative items etc.

Advent Wreaths:
The Advent wreath is a circle of leaves , usually pine boughs , ivy and holly with five candles in it which is hung outside the house or the church. The candles are lit on each Sunday in Advent and the central candle is lit on Christmas morning.

Carols by Candlelight:
A popular tradition is the Carol Service which is often lit by candles. This carol singing generally has lots of singing and Bible readings.

Christmas tree:
It is a tradition to decorate Christmas trees with lights, shiny balls, sparkly tinsels and other ornaments. The tree may be a cut tree such as the Fir tree or the spruce bought from a plantation or taken from the forest but usually people refer the artificial trees.

Santa Claus:
Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous white bearded man sometimes with spectacles wearing a red coat with a white collar and cuffs and red trousers and a big black leather belt. He carries a bag full of gifts for children who have been good all year along. It's the reindeer who pulls his sleigh. He is also known as St. Nicholas or Father Christmas in many western countries.

Exchanging Gifts:
Gift giving is an important aspect during Christmas among adults too. It demonstrates love, respect and goodwill towards others. Wise men brought gifts of gold, myrrh when Lord Jesus was born.

Wish you a merrier Christmas!