#Gate广场圣诞送温暖 Christmas is approaching, do you know its origins and legends?

Origin
Christmas is an important holiday in Christianity, celebrated on December 25 each year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus was conceived by the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, and God sent the angel Gabriel to inform Joseph in a dream, instructing him to marry Mary and name the child "Jesus." When Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government required people to register their households in Bethlehem. After Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they found no lodging and had to give birth to Jesus in a manger inside a stable. To commemorate the birth of Jesus, December 25 was designated as Christmas.
The determination of the specific date for Christmas has undergone an evolution. In the early 4th century, Eastern churches of the Roman Empire celebrated January 6 as a dual feast day commemorating both the birth and baptism of Jesus, known as the "Epiphany," while the church in Jerusalem only commemorated the birth of Jesus. In 336 AD, the Roman church began to celebrate Christmas on December 25, which may be related to the winter solstice in the Roman calendar and the birthday of the Persian sun god Mithras. The Roman church chose this day for Christmas as one of the measures to Christianize pagan customs and traditions. Later, although most churches accepted December 25 as Christmas, the specific date could not be unified due to the different calendars used by churches in various regions, so the period from December 24 to January 6 of the following year was designated as the Christmas season.

Legend
The Legend of Santa Claus: Santa Claus was originally Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, who was revered as a saint after his death. The legend says he is a white-bearded old man dressed in a red robe and wearing a red hat, who comes every Christmas riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer from the North, entering homes through the chimney, and places Christmas gifts in socks hung by children's beds or in front of the fireplace. Another version of the story is that Saint Nicholas liked to secretly help the poor during his lifetime. He secretly assisted three girls by giving them money, and on one occasion, he threw gold through a window, which happened to land in a long sock hanging by the fireplace, thus the method of placing gifts in Christmas stockings has been passed down to this day.
The Legend of the Christmas Tree: It is said that a farmer welcomed a cold and hungry child on a stormy Christmas night, providing him with a sumptuous Christmas dinner. When the child took his leave, he broke off a branch from a fir tree, stuck it in the ground, and blessed, saying, "May this day every year be filled with gifts, and may this beautiful fir branch remain as a token of your kindness." After the child left, the farmer found that the branch had turned into a small tree, and he realized that the one he had welcomed was actually a messenger of God. This is the origin of the Christmas tree.
The Legend of the Christmas Star: When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a brilliant new star appeared in the sky over the town of Bethlehem. The three kings from the East followed the guidance of the star and came to bow down and worship Jesus, who was sleeping in the manger. This is the Christmas Star.