Now Christmas Day becomes more and more popular, and you will enjoy that atmosphere. Nevertheless, how much do we know about Christmas. Maybe, in our minds, it is a day you will give wishes and receive gifts and the most, you want to shop.

However, in western, it is a significiant day which is equal in the Spring Festival.?

First, they will spend more than ten days decorating their homes. They wil cut trees as Christmas Tree in the begining, during the Christmas season, people go out to hunt for the perfect tree. Nowadays, people prefer to choose artificial trees instead of real evergreenconiferous（松柏）tree. Because it is cheaper and safer, and accompanied with high education, people are more environmentally-conscious, ahead of these, it is easier. Beyond of these, cities come alive with Christmas lights.

Secondly, shopping is on everyone’s mind and each person is thinking about what gifts to buy for those special friends and relatives. The month of December is by far the largest shopping season of the year and parents will prepare Christmas gifts for their kids. And children will also prepare Christmas cards for their parents and friends.Christmas is?the largest?cards-sending?occasion in the world. Many people include a family picture and letter of?yearly family events in the cards or emails, trying to send them so they arrive?before Christmas Day.?

In the mall,? you can see the Santa , who will give us gifts if we were good throughout the year living in North Pole. Most children wake up earlier on the Christmas morning, and find their gifts in socks hurridly.

On?Christmas Day, families gather to eat a big meal together. A typical Christmas dinner?would include turkey, ham（火腿）, stuffing（面包墩鸸蟆）, cranberries（小紅莓）, mashed potatoes（土豆泥） and gravy（肉汁）,?pies and lots of Christmas cookies.

Then many families gather together to sing Christmas carols（圣誕歌曲）.【This VOA Special English program, Wordsand Their Stores, was written byMarlilynChristiano.I'm Bob Doughty】.

Now there are still nearly three quarters of Americans send Christmas cards and have Christmas trees in their home and six in ten Americans put lights on Christmas?trees?

Do you want to know:

Where?does Santa live?

What?does Santa look like?

What?does Santa Claus symbolize?

How?does Santa get into people’s house?

There are many legend stories about Christmas which are so attractive. When you find it, you will find your surprise.

All in all, I just want to wish you a merry Christmas.