| But in reality it was they, together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life' ibid | |
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| People in the United States go to church, give parties and enjoy other forms of entertainment | Its core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event |
| Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas | In many European countries like Italy, Portugal and Netherlands, families start the new year by attending church services and then calling on friends and relatives |
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| The winter solstice was a time of festivity in every traditional culture, and the Christian Christmas probably took its place within this mythical context of the solar cult | Italian children receive gifts or money on New Year's Day |
"The calendar in use today in most of the world is the Gregorian or new-style calendar designed by a commission assembled by Pope Gregory XIII in the sixteenth century.
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