Marhaba! It’s that time of the year again!! To borrow from a famous song, ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas!!’ It’s somewhat impossible not to come across Christmas decorations, lights, presents, hundreds of candy choices, and people all around rushing to buy gifts and enjoy this beautiful festive season in most parts of this globe.
Today I am sharing what I think are the 10 most interesting facts about Christmas. To make it extremely beneficial for your learning, I have translated these facts to Arabic. I’ve also added some Christmas songs sung by the great Fairouz! Make sure you numbers 7 and 8 below! So next time make sure you impress your friends or family with one or all of these facts by discussing them in Arabic.
1) Many of the customs traditionally associated with Christmas originated with ancient pagan festivals. الكثير من العادات المرتبطة تقليدياً بعيد الميلاد نشأت من احتفالات وثنيَّة قديمة 2) The first Christmas was celebrated on December 25, AD 336 in Rome. إحتُفِلَ بأول عيد ميلاد في الخامس والعشرين من كانون الاول سنة 336 م. في روما 3) St. Nicholas, the real person on whom Santa Claus is based, lived in the 4th century AD. مار نيقولا, الشخصية الحقيقية التي تأسّست عليها شخصية بابا نويل, عاش في القرن الرابع م 4) The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. شجرة الميلاد الحديثة نشأت في المانيا في القرن السادس عشر
Christmas Trees Everywhere by miffyto | Flickr
5) Some Christian denominations celebrate Christmas on January 6. بعض الطوائف المسيحية تحتفل بعيد الميلاد في ستة كانون الثاني 6) Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold. شجر الميلاد عادة ينمو حوالى خمسة عشر سنة قبل أن يُباع 7) The most popular Christmas Song ever is We Wish You a Merry Christmas. أشهر أغنية لعيد الميلاد هي “نتمنى لكم ميلاد مجيد
8) The famous song ‘Jingle Bells’ was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. الاغنية المشهورة “أجراس العيد” كُتبَت لعيد الشكر وليس الميلاد
9) The earliest known Christmas tree decorations were apples.
أقدم زينة معروفة لشجرة الميلاد هي التفاح 10) More than three billion Christmas cards are sent annually in the United States. أكثر من ثلاث مليارات بطاقة معايدة لعيد الميلاد تُبعَث سنوياً في الولايات المتحدة الاميركية
Christmas Cards by Anastasia Annie Wahalatantiri | Flickr
Salam everyone! Born as an American to two originally Arab parents, I have been raised and have spent most of my life in Beirut, Lebanon. I have lived my good times and my bad times in Beirut. I was but a young child when I had to learn to share my toys and food with others as we hid from bombs and fighting during the Lebanese Civil War. I feel my connection to Arabic as both a language and culture is severing and so it is with you, my readers and fellow Arabic lovers, and through you that I wish to reestablish this connection by creating one for you.
