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Christmas
 The Story Behind Christmas (religious)

The Story Behind Christmas (religious)
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grade 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.08

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    biblical, spirit-something, long-standing, census, incorporate, meaningful, stressful, wise, account, finding, unrelated, celebration, nativity, essence, acknowledge, accuracy
     content words:    Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas

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The Story Behind Christmas (religious)
By Beth Beutler 		  
1     Christmas has become many things to many people. For some, it is a time for family, giving, and fun traditions such as putting up a Christmas tree, hanging stockings on the fireplace, and looking at Christmas lights. For others, it is a stressful holiday where they feel compelled to spend more money than they should on gifts, food, cards, and events in order to fulfill what is "expected."
 
2     Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it may interest you to know the story behind the holiday. There are various theories about the accuracy of the date, where some traditions come from, and whether certain practices actually celebrate the true meaning of the holiday. But many would agree that Christmas is due at least in part to the birth of Jesus Christ.
 
3     The story of the birth of Christ can be found in the Bible. In the book of Luke, chapter two, there are several details given. Christians believe that Jesus was born on Earth to Mary and Joseph and that God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where Mary and Joseph had gone to participate in a census. When they got to the crowded city, they had a hard time finding a room. At one inn, the owner offered shelter in the barn with the animals. Jesus was born that night, and Mary laid him in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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