Hello and welcome back to English with Ally! I’m Ally, you are listening to one of 24 episodes I'm making this December to explain different Christmas customs and give English language learners a little culture and a little listening practice.
This is part one of a special two-part episode. We’ve been talking about secular Christmas customs—sending cards, buying presents, decorating your home, and of course spending time with friends and family.
We've seen how Christmas has inspired many stories told through music, TV & movies and books. But behind all of the those traditions and tales lies one story—a story about one family. That family's story is at the heart of Christmas. So, for the next two episodes, I'll be telling the story of the birth of Jesus —an event that has brought millions of people to share the same traditions for over two thousand years.
Listen out for these words:
Listen out for those.
Mary was a young woman from Nazareth. Christians believe she was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus through a virgin birth, meaning she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit, not through a human father. This is a central belief in Christianity because it shows Jesus was divine.
Joseph was Mary’s husband. He was a carpenter and a kind man. When he learned Mary was expecting a baby, he became worried, but an angel told him the child was from God. So Joseph stayed with Mary and cared for her.
They had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem because of a census ordered by the Roman emperor. It was a long journey, and when they arrived, there was no room in the inn. They stayed in a stable, and that night, Jesus was born. Mary placed him in a manger because there was no cradle. Jesus, the son of God, was born in this humble setting, among sheep and cows.
So that's the first part of the story and I mentioned music inspired by the story of the birth of Christ, and some hymns which are sung at Christmas focus on the journey to Bethlehem, and the birth itself; if you listen to them you'll hear the story told - you might even recognise some of the vocabulary we've covered today. You can find them in the show notes.
At Christmas time, many people journey home to be with their family, nowadays long-distance travel is not as difficult or as expensive compared to just a few years ago. I remember traveling at all hours of the night to get home to see my family for Christmas—it was so tiring but special! What about you - have you ever had to take a long journey to get home for a special celebration? You can let me know by emailing me at helloenglishwithally[at]gmail.com—I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for listening to English with Ally! If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it with a friend, listen out for tomorrow's episode and subscribe! Merry Christmas!
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Hymns - try to find them on YouTube with the lyrics
Learn the language, discover the culture.
