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nd meaningful aspects of the holiday occur at home and in church. Many families go to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. After services, they gather around the tree and open their gifts. Then they sit down to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner.
3.2.3 Difference in Home Decorating
 In China, before the New Year comes, people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their houses as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils. Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance. The Chinese character “fu” (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the “reversed fu” is homophonic with “fu comes”, both being pronounced as “fudaole”. What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.
Western people decorate their home with evergreens. The winter custom of decorating homes and churches with evergreens began in ancient times. Branches of fir or spruce were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring. The early Germans believed, for example, that in winter evil spirits killed the plants and trees and caused green leaves and flowers to disappear. They felt that bringing evergreens into their homes would protect them from the spirit of death. Germans of the sixteenth century probably originated the custom of decorating trees. In the nineteenth century, the idea spread throughout Europe and the United states. Now, at Christmas time decorated trees stand in about two-thirds of American homes. The modern American tree is usually covered with colored balls and strings of colored lights. The star on top represents the star in the east which guided the three Wise Men to Bethlehem. In ancient times, a branch of mistletoe was hung over doorways for good luck. Today the custom continues, but now it is for fun. A man may kiss any girl he catches standing under the mistletoe. The poinsettia plant is another familiar Christmas decoration. Its star-shaped red leaves are an ideal symbol of the holiday. This plant is native to Central America and Mexico. In the nineteenth century it was adapted to cultivation in the United States by Dr. Poinsett of South Carolina. It is a distinctly modern and American Christmas tradition.

Ⅳ. Conclusion
 Festivals are actually opportune moments when national culture is presented. The festivals are the symbols of national culture. What festivals a nation has and how they are celebrated can represent the spiritual values of the nation. More importantly, the festivals provide opportunities to display culture’s attractiveness. Maintaining the traditions as a culture, especially around the holidays, sustains and comforts people as human beings. That is why people around the world try to protect the pureness of their festival cultures.
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