It is Christmastime and do we really all know what it is about? Not only that but what about what is fast appearing to be the most important aspect of Christmas and that is the favourite toys for kids at Christmas and more importantly the latest instalment of the highly Popular series of Musicals, High School Musical 3, Senior Year Soundtrack.
OK, Christmas first and then an explanation about the toys later.
The public holiday that we know nowadays as Christmas day, Christmastide or as has been mentioned before just plain old Christmas, celebrated on the 25th of December every year honours and marks the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. As with most things historical, the truth is actually slightly different from the fiction and due to a change in Calendar systems in the 1500’s from the old Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, named after the then Pope, Pope Gregory VIII it would appear that though we celebrate Christmas day as the anniversary of Christ’s birth, the actual birth date may now differ slightly.
It could be argued that actually nowadays the holiday is more of a celebration of the god Mammon rather than a celebration of the birth of Christ as the holiday probably has more to do with commercialism and the giving of gifts than anything else. The giving of gifts, the display of various decorations including the lighting up of lights on the Christmas tree with mistletoe etc are more representative of what Christmas actually means to us nowadays.
Also celebrated as a secular festival as well as being honoured by the worlds Christian population, the percentage of those who celebrate Christmas continues to rise. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population. As has been mentioned the number of those worldwide celebrating Christmas has grown almost exponentially to appoint where for example, in the USA, it is reckoned that Christmas is celebrated by over 96% of the population.
Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers. To sum up, Christmas is now big business whether we like it or not and it is one of the facts of modern day life that we are going to have to get used to.
So history and tradition aside, where exactly does the tradition of giving presents to one and all originate from?
It has been argued that though originating from an interpretation of Christmas as seen through the eyes of the Western world characterized by the giving of gifts, these gifts have been attributed to the character called Father Christmas (otherwise accredited or known as Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas or St Nikolaus, Sinterklaas or Kris Kringle amongst others).
The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. It took until the 1880’s for the images created by Nast to evolve into the image we all now recognise.
The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.
So to arguably this years must have toy, the soundtrack to the latest in the series of musicals High School Musical 3 Senior Year. Well as the title suggests, it is the latest in a series of highly successful smash hit musicals from Disney all revolving around the central theme of a musical and musical talent being produced at a…..High School, so no surprises there then. The soundtrack of the musical features recordings by all of the original cast members so there will be lots of favourites for all ages.
Not to stress the pun, a high successful musical.
Steve Morgan writes regularly on children's issues and if you would like to find out more information about any more about High School Musical 3 Senior Year Soundtrack then click here: of the High School Musical 3
