1.
Christkind
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As such, the Lutheran Church promoted Christ as the childrens gift-giver, hoping to draw attention to the child for whom Christmas was named. The Christkind was adopted in Catholic areas of Germany during the 19th century, to this date, the Christkindl remains the main gift bringer in many Catholic countries in Latin America. The Christkind is a child, usually depicted with blond hair. Martin Luther intended it to be a reference to the incarnation of Jesus as an infant. Sometimes the Christ Child is, instead of the infant Jesus, interpreted as an angel bringing the presents. Later, the Christkind was said to make rounds delivering gifts with St. Nicholas, children never see the Christkind in person, and parents tell them that Christkind will not come and bring presents if they are curious and try to spot it. In some traditions, the departure is announced by the ringing of a small bell, since the 1990s, the Christkind is facing increasing competition from the Weihnachtsmann in the American version of Santa Claus, caused by the use of Santa Claus as an advertising figure. Many traditionalist Catholics in recent times have advocated for the tradition of the Christkind as a means of restoring the true meaning of Christmas. Christkindl or Christkindel are diminutive versions of Christkind, Christkind and Belsnickel are also found among communities of Volga German descent in Argentina. A well-known figure is the Christkind at the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Christkindl is also a part of the city of Steyr in Austria, named after the allegedly miraculous wax statue of Christkind in the town church. Vienna Journal, For Austrians, Ho-Ho-Ho Is No Laughing Matter, Austria campaign to save Christkind from Santa Claus
2.
Infant Jesus of Prague
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Pious legends state that the statue once belonged to Saint Teresa of Avila. The statues clothes are changed by the Carmelite sisters of the church. It is especially venerated during the Christmas season and on May 27 every year on a day of feast, Pope Leo XIII approved the devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague statue in 1896, and instituted a sodality in its favor. On 30 March 1913, Pope Saint Pius X further organised the Confraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague, Pope Pius XI granted its first Canonical Coronation on 27 September 1924. Pope Benedict XVI crowned the image for the time during his Apostolic visit to the Czech Republic on 26 September 2009. Over its history, copies of the Infant of Prague statue have attracted Catholic devotional worship in numerous countries. Outside of the Czech Republic, the statue is popular in Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Philippines and Latin American countries that were previously colonies of Portugal. Many other Infant Jesus sculptures were carved by famous masters throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Often found in medieval work, the significance of the bird symbolizes either a soul or the Holy Spirit. The sculptures of the Holy Child were dressed in imperial regalia reflecting the fashion of that period. One legend says that a monk in a monastery somewhere between Cordoba and Sevilla had a vision of a little boy, telling him to pray. The monk had spent several hours praying and then he made a figure of the child, the House of Habsburg began ruling the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1526, the kingdom developed close ties with Spain. The statue first appeared in 1556, when María Manriquez de Lara y Mendoza brought the image to Bohemia upon her marriage to Czech nobleman Vratislav of Pernstyn. An old legend in the Lobkowicz family reports that Marías mother, María received the family heirloom as a wedding present. It later became the property of her daughter, Polyxena, 1st Princess Lobkowicz, in 1628, Princess Polyxena von Lobkowicz donated the statue to the Discalced Carmelite friars. Upon presenting it, the pious Princess Polyxena is said to have uttered a prophetic statement to the religious, Venerable Fathers, honour this image and you shall never want. The statue was placed in the oratory of the monastery of Our Lady of Victory, Prague, the Carmelite novices professed their vow of poverty in the presence of the Divine Infant. Upon hearing of the Carmelites devotions and needs, the Emperor Ferdinand II of the House of Habsburg sent along 2,000 florins, in 1630, the Carmelite novitiate was transferred to Munich
3.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
4.
Jesus in Christianity
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Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life. The choice Jesus made thus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, most Christians believe that Jesus was both human and divine—the Son of God. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, as fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the Bible, God raised him from the dead and he ascended to heaven to sit at the Right Hand of God, and he will return to earth again for the Last Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the World to Come. Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize key elements of the shared beliefs among major denominations based on their catechetical or confessional texts. Christian views of Jesus are derived from biblical sources, particularly from the canonical Gospels. Christians predominantly hold that these works are historically true and those groups or denominations committed to what are considered biblically orthodox Christianity nearly all agree on the following points, Christians believe that the mother of Jesus was a virgin. Christians believe that Jesus was a human being who was also fully God, Christians believe that Jesus came into the world as the son of only one earthly parent, Mary. Christians believe that Jesus never sinned or did anything wrong, Christians believe that Jesus was eventually martyred, was buried in a tomb, and then on the third day came back to life. Christians believe that because he rose from the tomb on the third day, Christians believe that Jesus eventually ascended back to God the Father. Christians believe that Jesus will come back to earth a second time, the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. These are usually bracketed by two episodes, his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end. The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his works and words, e. g. his ministry, Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but also to his name. Devotions to the name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity and these exist today both in Eastern and Western Christianity—both Catholic and Protestant. Christians predominantly profess that through Jesus life, death, and resurrection and his death on a cross is understood as a redemptive sacrifice, the source of humanitys salvation and the atonement for sin which had entered human history through the sin of Adam. But who do you say that I am, only Simon Peter answered him, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God — Matthew 16, 15-16 Jesus is mediator, but…the title means more that someone between God and man. He is not just a third party between God and humanity…, as true God he brings God to mankind. As true man he brings mankind to God, most Christians generally consider Jesus to be the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, as well as the one and only Son of God
5.
Nativity of Jesus
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The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the time of Herod the Great to a virgin whose name was Mary. In Christian theology the nativity marks the incarnation of Jesus as the second Adam, in fulfillment of the divine will of God, undoing the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. The artistic depiction of the nativity has been an important subject for Christian artists since the 4th century, the nativity plays a major role in the Christian liturgical year. Christian congregations of the Western tradition begin observing the season of Advent four Sundays before Christmas, the traditional feast-day of his birth, which falls on December 25. The date of birth for Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, the Gospels of both Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. However, Luke 1, 26–27 clearly states that Mary lived in Nazareth before the birth of Jesus, at the time of the Annunciation. The Gospel of Luke states that Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger “because there was no place for them in the inn, but does not say exactly where Jesus was born. This could be a place to keep the sheep within the Bethlehem area, in the 2nd century, Justin Martyr stated that Jesus had been born in a cave outside the town, while the Protoevangelium of James described a legendary birth in a cave nearby. In Contra Celsum 1.51, Origen, who from around 215 travelled throughout Palestine, the Quranic birth of Jesus, like the Gospels, places the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph, but was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph intended to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus, Joseph awoke and did all that the angel commanded. Chapter 1 of Matthews Gospel recounts Jesus birth and naming and the beginning of chapter 2 reveals that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of Herod the Great. Magi from the east came to Herod and asked him where they would find the King of the Jews, advised by the chief priests and teachers, Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem, where they worshiped the child and gave him gifts. When they had departed an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, for Herod intended to kill him. The Holy Family remained in Egypt until Herod died, when Joseph took them to Nazareth in Galilee for fear of Herods son who now ruled in Jerusalem, so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. When the time of the birth drew near the Roman Emperor commanded a census of all the world, and Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, as he was of the House of David. In accordance with the Jewish law his parents presented the infant Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary then returned to Nazareth
6.
Gospel
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A gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity places a value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be revelations from God. This position however, requires a view of Biblical inerrancy. The word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings, the gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and of redemption through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, the central Christian message. The Greek word euangelion is also the source of the terms evangelist, the authors of the four canonical Christian gospels are known as the Four Evangelists. Paul the Apostle used the term εὐαγγέλιον when he reminded the people of the church at Corinth of the gospel I preached to you, the earliest extant use of gospel to denote a particular genre of literature dates to the 2nd century. Justin Martyr in the Apology wrote of. the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, more generally, gospels compose a genre of early Christian writings. Gospels that did not become canonical also circulated in Early Christianity, many, such as the work known today as Gospel of Thomas, lack the narrative framework typical of a gospel. Scholars hold a wide spectrum of views on the origins and composition of the gospels, for example, the vast majority of material in Mark is also present in either Luke or Matthew or both, suggesting that Mark was a source for Matthew and Luke. He writes that the four gospels were probably all written by the end of the first century. But they did not yet at that time have a consistent narrative, in 170 Tatian sought to find a solution by composing a single narrative out of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with some additional oral material. Richies concludes that the gospel passages themselves can be unclear, and some of the messages within are straightforwardly ambiguous, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are considered synoptic gospels on the basis of many similarities between them that are not shared by the Gospel of John. Synoptic means here that they can be seen or read together, the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, presents a very different picture of Jesus and his ministry from the synoptics. Of the many gospels written in antiquity, only four came to be accepted as part of the New Testament. An insistence upon there being a canon of four gospels, and no others, was a theme of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus was ultimately successful in declaring that the four gospels collectively and he also supported reading each gospel in light of the others. This canon, which corresponds to the modern Catholic canon, was used in the Vulgate, Gospel of Matthew Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark This order is found in the following manuscripts, Bezae, Monacensis, Washingtonianus, Tischendorfianus IV, Uncial 0234. Although there is no set order of the four gospels in patristic lists or discussions, moody Smith suggests that the standard order of Matthew-Mark-Luke-John projects a kind of intention that can scarcely be ignored
7.
Finding in the Temple
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The Finding in the Temple, also called Christ among the Doctors or the Disputation, was an episode in the early life of Jesus depicted in the Gospel of Luke. It is the event of the later childhood of Jesus mentioned in a Gospel. The episode is described in Luke 2, 41-52, Jesus at the age of twelve accompanies Mary, Joseph and a large group of their relatives and friends to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, following the custom of the feast - that is, Passover. On the day of their return, Jesus lingered in the Temple, Mary and Joseph headed back home and after a day of travel realised Jesus was missing, so they returned to Jerusalem, finding Jesus three days later. He was found in The Temple in discussion with the elders and they were amazed at his learning, especially given his young age. When admonished by Mary, Jesus replied, Why did you seek Me, did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business. The story was elaborated in later literature, such as the apocryphal 2nd-century Infancy Gospel of Thomas. The losing of Jesus is the third of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and this event is frequently shown in art, and was a common component in cycles of the Life of the Virgin as well as the Life of Christ. In early Christian depictions, Jesus is usually shown in the center, seated on a dais surrounded by the elders. The gesture usually made by Jesus, pointing to his upraised thumb and these depictions derive from classical compositions of professors of philosophy or rhetoric with their students, and are similar to medieval depictions of contemporary university lectures. This composition can appear until as late as Ingres and beyond, from the Early Medieval period the moment shown is usually assimilated to the finding itself, by the inclusion of, initially, Mary, and later Joseph as well, usually at the left of the scene. Typically, Jesus and the doctors, intent on their discussions, have not noticed them yet, from the 12th century Jesus is often seated in a large throne-like chair, sometimes holding a book or scroll. From the High Renaissance onwards, many painters showed a close-up of the scene, with Jesus closely surrounded by gesticulating scholars, as in Dürers version of the subject. Seven Sorrows of Mary G. Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I,1971, Lund Humphries, London, pp. 124–5 & figs, ISBN 0-85331-270-2
8.
Calendar of saints
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The word feast in this context does not mean a large meal, typically a celebratory one, but instead an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a calendar of saints is called a Menologion, Menologion may also mean a set of icons on which saints are depicted in the order of the dates of their feasts, often made in two panels. As the number of recognized saints increased during Late Antiquity and the first half of the Middle Ages, eventually every day of the year had at least one saint who was commemorated on that date. To deal with this increase, some saints were moved to days in some traditions or completely removed. For example, St. Perpetua and Felicity died on 7 March, when the 1969 reform of the Catholic calendar moved him to 28 January, they were moved back to 7 March. Both days can thus be said to be their feast day, the Roman Catholic calendars of saints in their various forms, which list those saints celebrated in the entire church, contains only a selection of the saints for each of its days. A fuller list is found in the Roman Martyrology, and some of the saints there may be celebrated locally, Saint Martin of Tours is said to be the first or at least one of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint. The title confessor was used for saints, who had confessed their faith in Christ by their lives rather than by their deaths. Martyrs are regarded as dying in the service of the Lord, a broader range of titles was used later, such as, Virgin, Pastor, Bishop, Monk, Priest, Founder, Abbot, Apostle, Doctor of the Church. Pope Pius XII added a common formula for Popes, the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII omitted the common of Apostles, assigning a proper Mass to every feast day of an Apostle. The present Roman Missal has common formulas for the Dedication of Churches, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Martyrs, Pastors, Doctors of the Church, Virgins, some Christians continue the tradition of dating by saints days, their works may appear dated as The Feast of Saint Martin. Poets such as John Keats commemorate the importance of The Eve of Saint Agnes, as different Christian jurisdictions parted ways theologically, differing lists of saints began to develop. In the present ordinary form of the Roman Rite, feast days are ranked as solemnities and those who use even earlier forms of the Roman Rite rank feast days as Doubles, Semidoubles, and Simples. See Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite, in the Eastern Orthodox Church the ranking of feasts varies from church to church. In the Russian Orthodox Church they are, Great Feasts, middle, each portion of such feasts may also be called feasts as follows, All-Night Vigils, Polyeleos, Great Doxology, Sextuple. There are also distinctions between Simple feasts and Double, in Double Feasts the order of hymns and readings for each feast are rigidly instructed in Typikon, the liturgy book. In the Church of England, there are Principal Feasts and Principal Holy Days, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, and Commemorations. com
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