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Christmas Origins | Learn English | A British Christmas

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Uploaded by on Dec 10, 2009

Extras: http://linguaspectrum.com/lessons/language_lessons/Origins%20of%20Christmas/

This English language video lesson looks back in time to the ancient festivals that came before the English Christmas. The pagan Yule festival and the Roman Saturnalia being the most important. It explains the importance of the Winter Solstice and the reason we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. It also gives the other names of Christmas that you will meet in English - Yule, Xmas, Noel and Yuletide. It answers that question that has always puzzled English speakers - why do we say Xmas? There are more materials to go with this lesson at http://linguaspectrum.com/lessons/language_lessons/Origins%20of%20Christmas/

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Uploader Comments (Linguaspectrum)

  • Winter Solstice is NOT the time when both the DAY and NIGHT have equal lenghth, it is just NOT TRUE!!!

    Winter Solstice is the time with the LONGEST night ad the shortest day. After the Winter Solsice the day gets longer and longer again.

  • @vitekpiglet Thanks for watching and for commenting. You are, of course, right, and are the second person to point out this error to me. I will try harder next time.

    Best wishes,

    Richard

  • @Linguaspectrum

    I like all your videos, they're really very helpful to improve my english and I really appreciate it but at 0:58 the definition of winter solstice isn't correct. At a winter solstice the day and night aren't equal. On this day the night is the longest and the day is the shortest day of the year. What you meant is equinox which is on about 23rd of the March and September.

  • Hi. That makes sense.

    Thanks for pointing it out.

    Best wishes,

    Richard

  • Fantastycznie zrobione video cudna animacja ***** pozdrawiam

  • Thanks for your comments Roza.

    Best wishes,

    Richard

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All Comments (18)

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  • Your videos are amazing!

    I can learn more about english and also increase historic knowledge.

    thank you!

    =]

  • Thank you very much for your excellent and useful work.

  • Everything, that you Make - wonderfully!!!! Bravo! ★★★★★★

  • Very, very good. Thank you!

  • Fantastic information. Thanks

  • That's great ! 5*****

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