Christmas is an annual
festival that commemorates the
birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. It is preceded by the season of Advent and initiates the
Christmas season, which historically lasts twelve days in the West, culminating in the Twelfth
Night; in some traditions, the celebration covers an octave.
Christmas is a day off from work in many countries of the world. It is celebrated religiously by most Christians as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and is an integral part of the
Christmas season. The traditional
Christmas narrative in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in accordance with messianic prophecy. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn did not take place, and therefore they were offered a stable where the
Child Christ was soon born, and the angels preached this news to the shepherds, who then spread the information. The rituals associated with
Christmas in
different countries have a mixture of pre-Christian, Christian and secular themes and sources. Popular
modern customs of this
holiday include handing out gifts, replenishing the Advent calendar or an Advent wreath,
Christmas music and caroling, rich
lighting, creating and viewing
Christmas nativity scenes, exchanging
Christmas cards,
church services, special meal,
decorated Christmas trees, garlands, mistletoe and
holly. In addition, the figure of Santa Claus is inextricably linked with these holidays, bringing gifts to children. As gift giving and many other aspects of
Christmas are associated with increased economic activity, the
holiday has become an important
event and a key selling period for retailers and businesses.
A flower, sometimes known as a
bloom or
blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering
plants (
plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). The biological function of a flower is to affect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs.
Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from
different individuals in a population) resulting from
cross pollination or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower) when self pollination occurs. Some
flowers produce diaspores without fertilization (parthenocarpy).
Flowers contain sporangia and are the site where gametophytes develop. Many
flowers have evolved to be attractive to
animals, so as to cause them to be vectors for the transfer of
pollen. After fertilization, the ovary of the flower develops into
fruit containing seeds.
In addition to facilitating the reproduction of flowering
plants,
flowers have long been admired and used by humans to bring
beauty to their environment, and also as objects of romance, ritual, religion,
medicine and as a source of food.
The essential parts of a flower can be considered in two parts: the vegetative part, consisting of petals and associated structures in the perianth, and the reproductive or sexual parts. A stereotypical flower consists of four kinds of structures attached to the tip of a short stalk.
