contents - Mahan Air

New Year
Proprietor: Mahan Air Co.
Managing Director: Mehdi Aliyari
4th Floor, Mahan Air Tower, Azadegan St.,
Karaj High- way, Tehran,Iran
P.O.Box: 14515411
Tel: 48381752-021
Fax: 48381799 -021
Tel: (24843 (9821+
Fax: (22050045 (9821+
Cellphone: 09121129144
Email: info@mahanmagazine.com
C O N T E N T S
Christmas around the World .................................... 4
Poem:
The Colors of Christmas ................................ 10
The History of the Yule Log ....................... 14
Page 2 | January 2016
Christmas Eve
Traditions and Customs
Christmas Eve has many of its own customs and
traditions. The most widely practiced one that still
exists today is going to a Midnight Mass Church
Service. In many countries, especially Catholic ones
such as Spain, Mexico, Poland and Italy, this is the
most important Church service of the Christmas
season. People might fast during Christmas Eve (not
eat any meat or fish usually) and then the main
Christmas meal is often eaten after the Midnight
Mass Service in these countries. In some other
countries, such as Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and
Denmark the meal is eaten in the evening and you
might go to a Midnight Service afterwards!
The Midnight Mass Communion Service (or 'ChristMas') was a very special one as it was the only one
that was allowed to start after sunset (and before
sunrise the next day), so it was held at Midnight!
Christmas Eve is also the day when people in some
countries, like Germany, Sweden and Portugal
exchange their presents. Christmas Eve is also
Santa's busiest day of the year when he has to travel
over 220 million miles (355 million km) to get to
every house on earth!
In many European countries including Germany,
Serbia and Slovakia, Christmas Eve is the day when
the Christmas Tree is brought into the house and
decorated.
It was also traditional to bring the Yule Log into the
house and light it on Christmas Eve. It was lit using
a piece of the previous year’s log and then would
burn non-stop until Twelfth Night (6th January).
Tradition also said that any greenery such as Holly,
Ivy and Mistletoe should only be taken into the
house on Christmas Eve.
In the past, if you weren't carol singing, in parts of
the UK, you might go out wassailing or mumming.
There were lots of superstitions in the UK that said
girls could find out the initials, or even have
visions, of the person they would marry on
Christmas Eve! This was often done by cooking a
special cake called a 'dumb cake'. You were
supposed to make the cake in silence and prick
your initials into the top. When you went to bed,
you left the cake by the fire hearth and your true
love was supposed to coming in at midnight and
prick his initials next to yours!
Page 3 | January 2016
Christmas around the World
Most Christians in Macedonia belong to the
Orthodox Church and so Christmas is celebrated on
January 7th (Orthodox Church use the 'Julian'
Calendar for their festivals).
Christmas celebrations really start on 5th January
which is called 'Kolede'. On this day people,
especially children, like to go carols singing around
their neighbors. They are given fruits, nuts and
coins.
When the singing has finished, people gather around
big bonfires. They are sometimes held in parks
where hundreds of people can go to see them.
Others like smaller events where the local
community comes together. Lots of traditional food
is eaten.
At the end of the night a special Christmas bread
which has a coin baked in it is passed around.
Everyone takes a piece and if you find the coin,
you'll get luck for the next year (and you might also
have to host the bonfire the next year!).
On Christmas Eve (6th January) people look forward
to the special Christmas meal that will be eaten in
the evening. The meal is called 'posna' and
traditionally contains no dairy, meat or animal
products. Dishes might include nuts, fresh and dried
fruits, baked cod or trout, bread, kidney bean soup,
potato salad, Ajvar (red-pepper dip), Sarma (cabbage
leaves stuffed with rice and spices) and pickled
vegetables. Coin bread or Christmas Cake with a
coin in it is eaten at the end of the meal.
Christmas Eve is also when the traditional oak yule
log, called a 'badnik', is brought into the house and
is lit (the Christmas Eve meal is also sometimes
called 'badnik dinner'). Houses are also often
decorated with oak branches and Christmas Trees
are popular. There's sometimes straw either on the
floor or under the tablecloth.
On Christmas Day (7th January) most Christians go
to a Church service and then come home to eat a
large Christmas feast! There's the traditional
Christmas Day greeting "Hristos se rodi" or "Христос
се роди!" (Christ is born) to which you reply
"Navistina se rodi" (He truly is born!).
The big Christmas Day meal might include different
roasted meats, cheese pies, salads and lots of bread,
cakes and sweets. Christmas celebrations often last
for another three days after Christmas Day.
Christmas in
Macedonia
In Georgia, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th
January. This is because the Georgian Orthodox
Church (like the Orthodox Churches in Russia,
Ethiopia and some other countries) use the old
'Julian' calendar for their festivals.
On Christmas Day, many people will go on 'Alilo', a
parade in the streets. They are dressed in special
cloths and costumes to celebrate Christmas. Some
people carry Georgian flags and others might be
dressed as people from the Christmas story.
Children like taking part in the Alilo as they're often
given sweets!
Carols are sung and they vary across the country.
The traditional Georgian Christmas Tree is made of
dried wood, such as hazelnut or walnut branches,
which are shaved into long curly strips to form a
small tree. Some people say they look like the long
white curly beard of St. Basil the Great! They are
decorated with small fruits and sweets. They are
traditionally burnt on the day before the Georgian
Orthodox Epiphany (19th January). This is meant to
mark the end of the year's troubles. 'Western'
Christmas Tree is also popular.
People get their presents on New Year's Eve
(December 31st). Presents are traditionally brought
to children by "Tovlis Papa" (or tovlis babua in
western Georgian dialects) which means
“Grandfather Snow”. He normally wears all white
clothing including a hat, a cape/cloak called a
“nabadi”. The cloak is heavy and very warm as it's
made of white sheep's wool. Shepherds were in
darker colors, but Tovlis Papa has to wear a white
one!
On New Year's Eve he comes down from the
mountains of the Caucasus and walks around
Georgia to deliver treats and sweets to all the
children in Georgia. Children leave out
"Churchkhela" a delicious treat made of walnuts
and grape juice, which is shaped like a sausage, for
Tovlis Papa.
Christmas in
Georgia
‫ | سالمت‬6 ‫صفحه‬
On Christmas Eve, children, especially boys, often
go out singing 'kalanda' (carols) in the streets. They
play drums and triangles as they sing. Sometimes
they will also carry model boats decorated with nuts
which are painted gold. Carrying a boat is a very old
custom in the Greek Islands.If the children sing well,
they might be given money, nuts, sweets and dried
figs to eat. Christmas Trees are becoming more
popular in Greece, but they aren't traditional.
Instead most houses will have a shallow wooden
bowl with a piece of wire suspended across the rim.
A sprig of basil wrapped around a wooden cross
hangs from the wire. Some water is kept in the bowl
to keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day
someone, usually the mother of the family, dips the
cross and basil into some holy water and uses it to
sprinkle water in each room of the house.
This is believed to keep the 'Killantzaroi' (bad spirits)
away. The Killantzaroi are meant to appear only
during the 12-day period from Christmas to Epiphany
(January 6th). They are supposed to come from the
middle of the earth and get into people's house
through the chimney! The Killantzaroi do things like
putting out fires and making milk go off. Having a
fire burning through the twelve days of Christmas is
also meant to keep the Killantzaroi away.
Every December, in Aristotelous Square in the city of
Thessaloniki (which is the second biggest city
Greece) a huge Christmas Tree and three masted
sailing ships are put up. It's a popular tourist
attraction. Going to a Midnight Mass Service is very
important for most Greeks. After the service people
can go home and end their Advent fast.
The main Christmas meal is roasted in an oven or
over an open spit. It's often served with a spinach
and cheese pie and various salads and vegetables.
Other Christmas and new year foods include
'Baklava' (a sweet pastry made of filo pastry filled
with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or
honey), Kataifi (a pastry made from a special form of
shredded filo dough and flavored with nuts and
cinnamon), Theeples (a kind of fried pastry).
A traditional table decoration are loaves of
'christopsomo' (Christ bread). It's a round sweet
loaf and the crust is often decorated with what the
family do for a living (if you're a fisherman there
would be fish, etc.). In Greece, presents are often
brought to children by Aghios Vassilis (Saint Basil)
on the 1st January.
1st January, New Year’s Day, is St Vasilis's Day who is
also known as St. Basil the Great. People in Greece
also celebrate Epiphany on the 6th January.
Christmas in
Greece
Christmas has only been widely celebrated in Japan
for the last few decades. It's still not seen as a
religious holiday or celebration as there aren't
many Christians in Japan. Now several customs
that came to Japan from the USA such as sending
and receiving Christmas Cards and Presents are
popular.
In Japan, Christmas is known as more of a time to
spread happiness rather than a religious
celebration. Christmas Eve is often celebrated
more than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is thought
of as a romantic day, in which couples spend
together and exchange presents. In many ways it
resembles Valentine's Day celebrations in the UK
and the USA. Young couples like to go for walks to
look at the Christmas lights and have a romantic
meal in a restaurant - booking a table on Christmas
Eve can be very difficult as it's so popular!
Fried chicken is often eaten on Christmas Day. It is
the busiest time of year for restaurants such as KFC
and people can place orders at their local fast food
restaurant in advance!
The traditional Japanese Christmas food is
Christmas cake, though it's not a rich fruit cake, but
is usually a sponge cake decorated with strawberries
and whipped cream.
Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, so
schools and businesses are normally open on
December 25th.
The Japanese New Year (called 'o shogatsu') is
more like a traditional Western Christmas. New
Year is a time when families get together, have a
special meal, pray and send greetings cards. New
Year
over five days from December
‫سالمت‬is | celebrated
7 ‫صفحه‬
31st to January 4th and is a very busy time.
Christmas in
Japan
poem
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
The History of Christingles
The idea of Christingles came from a Moravian
Church in Germany in 1747. The minister, John de
Watteville, gave children at the service a lighted
candle with a red ribbon around it. This represented
Jesus being the light of the world and the final
prayer of that first service was "Lord Jesus, kindle a
flame in these children’s hearts that theirs like
Thine become". The custom went around the world
with the church. Missionaries brought the Moravian
Church to England in the 1700s. In Moravian
churches, the Christingle Service is usually held on
the Sunday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve.
Over the years the symbolism of the Christingle
grew into what's known as a Christingle today.
Here's what the different parts of the Christingle
represent:
• The orange is round like the world.
• The candle stands tall and straight and gives light
in the dark like the love of God.
• The red ribbon goes all around the 'world' and is a
symbol of the blood Jesus shed when he died.
• The four sticks point in all directions and symbolize
North, South, East and West - they also represent
the four seasons.
• The fruit and nuts (or sometimes sweets!)
represent the fruits of the earth, nurtured by the
sunshine and the rain.
Page 9 | January 2016
The
Colors of
Christmas
Green
Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe
have been used for thousands of years to
decorate and brighten up buildings during the
long dark winter. They also reminded people
that spring would come and that winter
wouldn't last forever!
The Romans would exchange evergreen
branches during January as a sign of good luck.
The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm
branches into their houses during the midwinter festivals.
In many parts of Europe during the middle ages,
Paradise plays were performed, often on
Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people
who couldn't read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the
Garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine
tree with red apples tied to it.
Red
As mentioned above, an early use of red at
Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree.
They represented the fall of Adam in the plays.
Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is
said to represent the blood of Jesus when he
died on the cross.
Red is also the color of Bishops robes. These
would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then
also became Santa's uniform!
Gold
Gold is the color of the sun and light - both very
important in the dark winter. And both red and
gold are the colors of fire that you need to keep
you warm.
Gold was also one of the presents brought to
the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and
traditionally it's the color used to show the star
that the wise men followed.
Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with)
gold. But gold is a 'warmer' color.
White
White is often associated with purity and peace.
The snow of winter is also white!
White paper wafers were also sometimes used
to decorate paradise trees. The wafers
represented the bread eaten during Christian
Communion or Mass, when Christians
remember that Jesus died for them.
White is used by most churches as the color of
Christmas, when the altar is covered with a
white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church
Gold is used for Christmas).
Blue
The color blue is often associated with Mary,
the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye
and paint was more expensive than gold! So it
would only be worn by Royal families and very
rich people. Mary was often painted wearing
blue to show she was very important.
Blue can also represent the color of the sky and
heaven.
During Advent, purple and sometimes blue is
used in most churches for the color of the altar
cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church red is
used for advent).
Page 11 | January 2016
Chrismons and Chrismon Patterns
Chrismons are Christmas decorations with Christian
symbols on them. They help Christians to remember
that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday.
They are often used on Christmas Trees in Churches
and Christians’ homes.
They were first made by Frances Kipps Spencer at
the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia,
USA. She also thought of the word, Chrismon,
which is a combination of Christ and monogram
(meaning symbol). The idea quickly spread to other
churches. It is traditional that Christian groups can
make their own Chrismons with their favorite
symbols on.
Each year a 20ft 6-meter Christmas Tree is decorated
in the Ascension Lutheran Church, as Mrs Spencer
intended, and visitors come and hear the story of
Jesus explained through her original Chrismons and a
few gifts from around the world.
Chrismons are traditionally colored white and gold.
White is the liturgical (or Church) color for Christmas
and symbolizes that Jesus was pure and perfect.
Gold symbolizes His Majesty and Glory. Chrismons
can be made from nearly anything, but paper and
embroidered ones are the most widely used.
Below are some symbols that are common
Chrismons and what they represent to Christians.
The Cross symbolises that
Christians believe Jesus Christ
died for everyone on a Cross.
The Latin Cross, also sometimes
called the Roman Cross. The
base of the Cross has three steps
that symbolize faith, hope, and
love.
The Irish or Celtic Cross is a
normal cross with a circle in the
middle to symbolize eternity.
The Triumphant Cross
represents the earth with the
cross on top. It symbolizes Jesus
is triumphant over anything we
can face in the world.
The Anchor Cross reminds
Christian's that Jesus is the
anchor of their faith.
The Fish is one of the oldest
Christian symbols. Some of
Jesus' disciples were fishermen.
Alpha and Omega are the first
and the last letters of the Greek
alphabet. Used together, they
symbolize that Christians believe
Jesus is the beginning and the
end of all things.
The Chi-Rho looks like an 'X' with
a 'P' on top of it. These two
letters are the first two letters of
the Greek word 'Christos' which
means Christ.
A Five Pointed Star represents the
five wounds of Jesus on the cross.
The Crown is the symbol that Jesus
is King.
The Shepherd's Crook or Staff
remembers that Jesus sometimes
called himself a shepherd. It can
also represent the shepherds who
were the first people told about the
birth of Jesus.
The Lamp and The Candle both
represent that Christians believe
Jesus is the Light of the World.
The Ship is also a symbol of the
Church, sailing towards heaven.
The Angel reminds Christians of the
angels who told the shepherds
about the birth of Jesus. It can also
represent the second coming of
Jesus, which the bible says will start
with an Angel blowing a trumpet.
The Lamb is a symbol for Jesus who
is sometimes called 'The Lamb of
God'.
The Butterfly is a symbol for
transformation and the immortal
soul.
The Heart is a symbol of love and
reminds Christians that God is love.
Page 13 | January 2016
Page 14 | January 2016
The History of the
Yule Log
The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to before, medieval times. It
was originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice
festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany.
The Yule Log was originally an entire tree, that was carefully chosen and
brought into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log
would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into
the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log
which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through
the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was considered important that the re-lighting
process was carried out by someone with clean hands.
Nowadays, of course, most people
have central heating so it is very
difficult to burn a tree!
In Provence (in France), it is
traditional that the whole family
help to cut the log down and that
a little bit is burnt each night. If
any of the log is left after Twelfth
Night, it is kept safe in the house
until the next Christmas to protect
against lightning! In some parts of
Holland, this was also done, but
the log had to be stored under a
bed! In some eastern European
countries, the log was cut down
on Christmas Eve morning and lit
that evening.
In Cornwall (in the UK), the log is
called 'The Mock'. The log is dried
out and then the bark is taken off
it before it comes into the house
to be burnt. Also in the UK, barrel
makers (or Coopers as barrel
makers were traditionally called)
gave their customers old logs that
they could not use for making
barrels for Yule logs.
In some parts of Ireland, people
have a large candle instead of a
log and this is only lit on New
Year's Eve and Twelfth Night.
The ashes of Yule logs were meant
to be very good for plants. This is
true, because the ash from burnt
wood contains a lot of 'potash',
which helps plants flower. But if
you throw the ashes out on
Christmas Day it was supposedly
very unlucky!
A Chocolate Yule Log or 'bûche de
Noël' is now a popular Christmas
desert or pudding. It's traditionally
eaten in France and Belgium.
They are made of a chocolate
sponge roll layered with cream.
The outside is covered with
chocolate or chocolate icing and
decorated to look like a barkcovered log. Some people like to
add extra decorations such as
marzipan mushrooms!
Page 15 | January 2016
Bells, especially Church Bells, have
traditionally been associated with
Christmas for a long time. In the Anglican
and Catholic churches, the church day
starts at sunset, so any service after that is
the first service of the day. So a service on
Christmas Eve after sunset is traditionally
the first service of Christmas Day! In
churches that have a Bell or Bells, They are
often rung to signal the start of this service.
In some churches in the UK, it is traditional
that the largest bell in the church is rung
four times in the hour before midnight and
then at midnight all the bells are rung in
celebration.
In the Catholic Church, Christmas is the
only time that Mass is allowed to be held
at Midnight. This is because in the early
church, it was believed that Jesus was born
at midnight, although there has never
been any proof of this! A lot of Churches
have midnight services on Christmas Eve,
although not every church will have a mass
or communion as part of the service.
In many Catholic countries such as France,
Spain and Italy, the midnight mass service
is very important and everyone tries to go
to a service.
In Victorian times, it was very
fashionable to go carol singing
with small handbells to play
the tune of the carol.
Sometimes there would
only be the bells and no
singing! Handbell ringing is
still popular today.
Traditions of
Page 16 | January 2016
Christmas Bells