Why do so many people ring bells at Christmas time?

Bells have been used for thousands of years primarily as a means of signalling. Anouncing events, in some cases religious.





That is the primary reaosn for their use in churches - to signal to people when a service was to begin. (And hence nothing to do with any supposed pagan religion).





It then became customary to ring your bells more vigorously for a more important service - like Christmas or Easter. Laos folk tales gre up around bells. As they announced the Holy Mass, and evil could not withstand the holy, then evil spirits would run away at the sound of bells.





Why do they do it now? Because it sounds nice and is assocaied with joyous occasions, with blessings..

Why do so many people ring bells at Christmas time?
For a few reasons: Church bells do it to announce the day of the Nativity, call the faithfull to worship, and lastly, attempt to lift the spirits of everyone for joyous celebration. Present day homes may be influenced by the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" where the phrase "If a bell rings, an angel received his/her wings" came from as well as the hearing the melodious sound of jingle bells.
Reply:Ok, i let my mind wonder why and I came up with a hypothesis. Maybe a long time ago (im talkin horse and buggy ages) the snow storms during winter were so bad that people used bells from the door of their house to help their husbands find their way to it. And since Christmas is right in the middle of winter; it just ended up being a tradition nowadays. Voila. Thats my story and I still do not know the truth
Reply:I have yet to see one ring of a bell.. However I also have yet to be kissed under the mistletoe..
Reply:'cos the wreaths on the door cover up the knockers...
Reply:Ring bells as in door bells or the way santa goes round ringing a handbell? Handbells are rung to annonce the coming of Jesus.
Reply:to get you to go to church so you can pray for a BIG Present........
Reply:because there happy litlle chappies :)
Reply:Bells are typically rung to announce a major life event or occasion. They are rung on both joyous and sad occasions including both weddings and funerals. Bells are rung at Christmas to announce and celebrate the birth of Jesus.





Our modern day ringing of bells can be traced back to the Pagan religion, a major world religion that preceded Christianity. It was not uncommon for Pagans to ring bells to keep evil spirits away. Ringing bells was part of many Pagan winter celebrations. Millenia ago, many Pagan customs were adapted to fit into Christian celebrations. Christmas bells were also probably one of the least expensive musical instruments you could find.





A Common Christmas Tradition


Christmas bells take different forms in different cultures. In Haiti, they have wooden bells that actually don’t ring in lieu of the silver bells that we are all used to.





Nowadays, Christmas bells are a common part of our Christmas celebrations. We use bells to decorate. The front door of most homes is usually adorned with Christmas bells to make a pleasant noise as guests enter our homes during the Christmas season. Christmas bells are also widely popularized in many Christmas songs such as Jingle Bells and Silver Bells. Christmas bells make a festive embellishment to the outside of your Christmas presents, so consider affixing a small Christmas bells onto your wrapped Christmas presents this holiday season.





Today, Christmas bells are such an integral part of our holiday celebration that it is hard to imagine the Christmas season without the appealing sound of bells ringing.