Christmas is all about cold snow, warm sweaters, bright lights & CHOCOLATES

December 25, is the day when Christmas is celebrated all over the world, be it children or adults or age olds. Jesus chose to be born on the shortest day of the year for symbolic reasons, according to an early Christmas sermon. Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian.
As a Christmas tradition, the chocolate coin giving was thought to be started by the deeds of Saint Nicholas. He was the bishop of Myra in Lycia, which is now considered Turkey. Although there isn’t any written documentation, many legends speak of his kindness to children. He was said to be an incredibly shy person and wanted to give money to the poor children of Myra without them knowing about it. One night he climbed on a roof and threw a purse of money down a chimney, which landed in a pair of stockings that a little girl had hung up to dry. Every year Saint Nicholas would keep giving coins or money to the children of Myra
In the United Kingdom, chocolate coins mimic the design of real money; they are traditionally bought around Christmas and are used to decorate the Christmas tree and to fill the stockings of children. When children visit a friend or relative they are allowed to find and take chocolates from the tree as a treat. A variant of this is that chocolate coins are hidden somewhere in the house for children to find, often in the form of a treasure trail.
Christmas and chocolates go hand in hand since its origin. Chocolates are the major attractions at Christmas. It has many forms of chocolate coins, chocolate pudding, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, candy, chocolate bars, and chocolate gifting.” India Chocolate Market Outlook”, 2023 gives a comprehensive analysis of the Chocolate industry of India. In India, the hygiene products market has shown explosive growth in recent years. The key growth drivers of the chocolate industry in India are the tradition of gifting sweets, shifting in consumer preference from traditional mithai to chocolates, rising income levels, and attractive pricing which is suitable for every pocket. Urban India and tier I, II cities have woken up to the fad of chocolate being considered as a gift proposition. While even till a few years back sweets were the only option in delicacy gifting, overt media exposure and smart marketing techniques have positioned chocolates as an alternative.
According to the report, ‘India Chocolate Market Outlook, 2023’ published by Bonafide Research, the total chocolate market has grown with 18% CAGR from 2011-12 to 2016-17 in value terms. In volume terms, it is predicted to have a growth rate of around XX% during the forecast period. The total chocolate market is segmented into two broad categories i.e. Mass and Premium. It has three product viz. Dark chocolate, White chocolate, and Milk chocolate. Milk chocolates have been always popular in India and contribute more than 70% of the total chocolate market.
India is now one of the world’s fastest-growing chocolate confectionery markets. The Indian chocolate market is expected to grow by 20 percent each year between 2016 and 2020. As a result, it is generating new demand from many customer segments, and growing rapidly. This remarkable transformation has been possible because the chocolate category has reinvented itself.
Up to the 1950s in the UK, many Christmas customs were restricted to the upper classes and better-off families. The mass of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later became general. The Christmas tree was rare. Christmas dinner might be beef—certainly not turkey. In their stockings, children might get an apple, orange, and sweets. Full celebration of a family Christmas with all the trimmings only became widespread with increased prosperity from the 1950s
The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion, while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular, the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter, and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.
Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. The outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. It is customary to hang a sprig of mistletoe in the house at Christmas, and anyone standing underneath it may be kissed. Mistletoe has sticky white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it
Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places. It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night, the evening of January 5.
Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance. People offer prayers at midnight and sing carols.
Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen among others. Christmas celebrations around the world can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions.