мне очень нужно сочинение на английском про рождество!

The history of Christmas traditions practiced by Americans today, originated as Germanic Christmas traditions. Christmas is probably the most commonly celebrated holiday in the world. Although the history of Christmas plays a part in the traditions practiced today, it does not account for all aspects of the holiday.

The Christmas tree, one of the most famous symbols of the modern Christmas celebration, has its roots in Germanic practices. By the 19th century the Christmas tree had become very popular in Europe and America. The Christmas tree is an evergreen tree, although some people prefer to use an artificial tree. It is usually placed near the front windows of homes for passerby's to admire. Early Christmas trees were decorated with apples, nuts and candles. However, today they are decorated with electrical lights, tinsels, ornaments and a large star is usually placed on the top of the tree.

Santa Claus is another extremely prevalent figure associated with the Christmas holiday. The story of Santa Claus originated from a story where on the eve of St. Nicholas' feast day, children would place their shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with candy and fruit and the bad children would receive twigs. America altered the story of Santa Claus as follows: Santa Claus comes from the North Pole, dresses in a red robe with white fur and on Christmas Eve he travels down the chimneys of homes and delivers gifts to children. Similar to the St. Nicholas story, Santa Claus places gifts in the stockings of good children and coal in the stockings of those who have been bad.

Along with the decorated evergreen tree and the story of Santa Claus, the modern American Christmas celebration commonly includes many other customary activities. Such practices as decorating homes with electric lights, giving gifts to friends and family, setting up nativity scenes, going to church, singing Christmas carols, cooking special meals and gathering with friends and family are also extremely popular Christmas customs. There are also countless songs and movies associated with Christmas that are played throughout the holiday season.

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Christmas is a celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. Some people celebrate Christmas differently, but it is all based upon the birth of Christ. Christmas is on December 25th. This is the day that Jesus is said to be born. Nobody really knows the exact date Jesus was born. Yet, in 137 AD, the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of The Christ child be celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD, another Roman Bishop named Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance day of Christmas (The Mass of Christ).

People celebrate Christmas differently form one another. For example, my family celebrates Christmas by decorating our entire house. We also exchange gifts, go to church, and cook a big dinner. Even though we do all these things, we remember the "true" meaning of Christmas - To Celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, though people celebrate Christmas in different ways throughout the world, I learned to celebrate Christmas from my family and church.

No wonder that Christmas is one of the most cherished and long-awaited holidays in Russia. Unlike many other countries it’s celebrated on the 7th of January, in accordance with the Orthodox calendar. Initially this day was linked with many folk customs. Some areas still keep up with the tradition of carols’ singing and masking on the night of January 6th. Traditional meal for Christmas in Russia is kutya. It’s sweet and delicious rice with raisins and dried fruits. From old times till now people are used to treating their relatives and neighbors with this dish. It is natural to sing carols in honor of Jesus Christ on this night. Since ancient times young girls used to practice divination during the Yuletide. It means they gathered together and did various manipulations to foresee the future. In some villages it was widespread to put up a straw stack in the yard and burn it. All the relatives would stand around the straw and watch it burn. It was believed that the dead ancestors returned for a moment to warm up by the fire, kindled by their descendents. In return they bestowed fertility to the living. In the past, Russian farmers had several other traditions. For example, it was considered a bad omen if the first footer on Christmas was a woman. It meant that all the women in this family would have health problems during the year. Another tradition was to clean the house on this day, to wash in the bath and to set a clean tablecloth for the year to bring good harvest. The main meal on Christmas table included roasted pork and other meat dishes, such as goose with apples, roasted poultry, lamb, fish, etc. There were also pancakes, casseroles, pies with various fillings. Basically, it was a large and important feast for every Russian family and it still is.перевод: Неудивительно, что Рождество является одним из самых заветных и долгожданных праздников в России. В отличие от многих других стран, здесь его празднуют 7 января, в соответствии с православным календарем. Первоначально этот день был связан с множеством народных обычаев. В некоторых районах по-прежнему поддерживают традицию пения колядок и ряженья в ночь на 6 января. Традиционный ужин на Рождество в России - это кутья. Это вкусный сладкий рис с изюмом и сухофруктами. С давних времен и по сей день люди по привычке относят это блюдо своим родственникам и соседям. В эту ночь принято петь хвалебные песни, в честь Иисуса Христа. С древних времен молодые девушки практиковали гадания во время святок. Это означает, что они собрались вместе и делали различные манипуляции, чтобы предвидеть будущее. В некоторых селах было широко распространено сжигание стога соломы во дворе. Все родственники собирались вокруг соломы и смотрели, как она горит. Считалось, что умершие предки возвращались на мгновение, чтобы погреться у огня, зажженного их потомками. В свою очередь они даровали плодородие живым. В прошлом у русских фермеров были и иные традиции. Например, считалось плохой приметой, если первой на Рождество порог переступала женщина. Это означало, что у всех женщин в этой семье будут проблемы со здоровьем в течение года. Еще одна традиция была убрать дом в этот день, помыться в бане и постелить чистую скатерть, чтобы год принес хороший урожай. Основой рождественского стола была жареная свинина и другие мясные блюда, такие как гусь с яблоками, жареная дичь, баранина, рыба и т. д. Были также блинчики, запеканки, пироги с различными начинками. В принципе, для каждой русской семьи это был большой и значимый праздник, который до сих пор таковым является