2010Christmas and New Year - First Day Cover

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ who became incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and became a man. 25th December is celebrated around the world and is one of the three major Christian holidays.Preparations for Christmas begin four Pre-Christmas weeks – Advent. Unavoidable symbols of Christmas are creche – birth of Jesus and Christmas tree that once was decorated with fruit (apples, walnuts, hazelnuts), various sweets and handmade ornaments of straw and paper. Christians have always regarded the birth of Jesus as the beginning of the New Year, which was until 16th / 17th century celebrated on 25th December and in some Croatian areas, it is still called Young Christmas or Little Christmas. Today, the seeing off old and expectation of the New Year has lost the feature of family holiday and is turned over relatives and friends. Celebrations around the world are very similar, with much noise and pomp, the rich and happy New Year is evoked, and with the convenience food and a glass of champagne pays tribute to the progress of time, which symbolically begins again.