Holidays

The word ‘holiday’ comes from the term ‘Holy Day’. Holiday originally meant a special religious day and on that day no work would be done.

Now the term ‘holiday’ means time off work or school, or a trip somewhere. Other terms are ‘vacation’, ‘break’, ‘going on leave’ etc.

Before the sixteenth century people did not go on holiday. There were days of religious festivals and on those days people did not work. However, they did not travel just for the sake of it.

In Britain holidays began with the idea that mineral water had healing properties. People began to travel to spa towns like Bath to bathe in the waters.

Some people still have to work on Christmas Day.

Here is a group of people who work on Christmas Day. Can you tell what their jobs might be?

Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but this was no holiday!

Everyone had to travel to their home town to register for a census that the Roman Emperor had asked for. It was a long, difficult journey and Mary’s baby was due any day. When they finally arrived, there weren’t even any rooms available!

Luke 2:1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.