Christmas Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Christmas Wiki
Christmas-tree-image

A Christmas Tree, popular at Christmas.

Christmas is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25th, commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, lasting twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the Anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC. 25th December is not known to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival or the winter solstice.

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, Church celebrations, and the display of a variety of decorations, including the Christmas tree, holiday lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas for children. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretisation between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th-century media. Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population. Christmas has become a major event for many retailers. People celebrate Christmas with Christmas Trees, many like the one shown above.

In accordance with messianic prophecies, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, according to the standard Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, as described in the New Testament. When Joseph and Mary arrived in town, the inn was full, so they were given a barn, where the Christ Child was soon conceived, with angels announcing the good news to shepherds, who then spread the message. Although the month and date of Jesus' birth remain uncertain, the church decided on 25th December in the early fourth century. On the Roman calendar, this refers to the winter solstice. In the Gregorian calendar, most Christians commemorate on 25th December, which has been followed almost universally in civil calendars around the world. Parts of the Eastern Christian Churches, on the other hand, observe Christmas on 25th December in the Julian calendar, which corresponds to 7th January in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, the main reason for celebrating Christmas is to believe that God came into the universe in the shape of a man to apologise for humanity's sins, rather than to recognise Jesus' precise birth date.

History[]

History-of-christmas

Christmas in the early times.

Winter solstice has traditionally been a day of joy for people all around the globe. Early Europeans welcomed light and birth in the darkest days of winter centuries before the advent of the man known as Jesus. During the winter solstice, many people rejoiced, knowing that the worst of the winter was behind them and that they should look forward to longer days and longer hours of sunshine. From 21st December, the winter solstice, until January, the Norse observed Yule in Scandinavia. Fathers and sons will carry huge logs home and light them on fire to celebrate the return of the sun. The people would feast before the log was fully consumed, which could take up to 12 days. Each spark from the fire was thought to signify a new pig or calf that would be born in the coming year by the Norse.

Saturnalia, a festival honouring Saturn, the God of agriculture, was observed in Rome, where winters were not as cold as those in the far north. Saturnalia, which began the week before the winter solstice and lasted a month, was a hedonistic period where food and drink were abundant and the usual Roman social order was turned upside down. Enslaved people will become masters for a month. The city was under the control of peasants. Businesses and schools were closed to enable people to participate in the festivities. Romans have celebrated Juvenalia, a feast celebrating Rome's youngsters, at the time of the winter solstice. The birthday of Mithra, the deity of the unconquerable light, was also celebrated by the upper classes on 25th December. Mithra, an infant deity, was said to have been formed from a rock. Mithra's birthday was considered the holiest day of the year by some Romans.

Christmas is a fairly new word in English, meaning 'mass on Christ's day.' Yule may have originated from the Germanic Jl or the Anglo-Saxon gel, which both applied to the winter solstice feast. Navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian, and Noel in French mean the nativity in other languages. Weihnachten is a German term that means 'holy night.'

  • v · t · e
Christmas

Extended Links[]

Advertisement