Do You Know What Is Christmas And Why Is It Celebrated?

Do you know what is Christmas, Christmas is a Christian holiday that honours the birth of Jesus. Christmas (“mass on Christ’s day”) is a very recent invention in the English language. The previous word “Yule” may have come from the Germanic “jl” or “gel,” which were terms for the winter solstice feast.

The same phrases in other languages, such as Navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian, and Nol in French, all likely refer to nativity. Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also become a secular family holiday, celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike, free of Christian components, and characterized by an increasingly elaborate gift-exchanging custom.

A legendary character by the name of Santa Claus is central to this secular Christmas festivity. Sunday, December 25, 2022 is designated as Christmas Day.

Source and progression

The early Christian community made a distinction between determining the day of Jesus’ birth and celebrating it liturgically. It took a long time before the birth of Jesus was actually celebrated. A lot of people opposed celebrating the birthdays of martyrs or, for that matter, Jesus during the first two centuries of Christianity.

Many Church Fathers made scathing remarks regarding the pagan practice of celebrating birthdays when, in reality, saints and martyrs should be honored on the days of their martyrdom—from the church’s perspective, these are their real “birthdays.”

It’s unknown where exactly people started putting Jesus’ birthdate of December 25. There are no hints in this regard in the New Testament. December 25 was first identified as the day of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the internationally accepted date.

The dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a well-known holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter, and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer, was Christianized on December 25, according to a widely accepted explanation for the origin of this date.

In fact, after December 25 had come to be generally recognized as the birthdate of Jesus, Christian authors regularly drew parallels between the sun’s rebirth and that of the Son.

One issue with this perspective is that it implies a casual readiness on the part of the Christian church to usurp a pagan holiday, despite the early church’s steadfast determination to categorically separate itself from pagan beliefs and practices.

An alternative perspective contends that December 25 was chosen as the day of Jesus’ birth through a priori deduction, which claimed that the world was founded on the spring equinox and that Jesus was conceived on the fourth day of creation, when light was created (i.e., March 25).

The birth of Jesus was officially celebrated on December 25, nine months after that. Jesus’ baptism, which was marked on January 6, was long observed alongside the celebration of his birth.

Why Is Christmas During December?

The majority of Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the Gregorian calendar, the day that marks the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the early Christians did not observe his birthday, and no one is certain of the precise day of his birth (some scholars believe that the actual date was in the early spring, placing it closer to Easter, the holiday commemorating his Resurrection).

Commemorations most likely started somewhere in the second century, which is where the holiday’s beginnings and its December date can be traced back to. The December date has at least three different origins.

Jesus was conceived on March 25, according to the Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus, which meant that he would be born on December 25 after nine months in his mother’s womb.

Do You Know What Is Christmas

The Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) was reborn on December 25th in the third century in the Roman Empire, which at the time had not embraced Christianity.  This event followed the well-known Roman festival known as the Saturnalia and also signalled the return of longer days following the winter solstice.

It was also the birthday of the Indo-European god Mithra, who was revered by Roman troops at the time as a symbol of fidelity and illumination.

Did Santa Claus really exist?

The most thrilling part of Christmas for many American kids, especially those who have done well all year, is finding wrapped presents placed under the tree and treats concealed in stockings hung by the fireplace. Children are sometimes informed that Santa Claus left the gifts during his yearly, nighttime trip around the globe in a sleigh drawn by nine flying reindeer.

How is it that this tale has been accepted by so many? Whether or not you think the fabled character and the custom of gift-giving originated with the Dutch colonists, Santa Claus is a legendary creature who visits every child’s house through a chimney to leave presents.

In the 17th century, they immigrated to what is now New York City, bringing with them the Sinterklaas tale and the tradition of delivering gifts for youngsters on the night before December 6. Then, from a holy bishop, Sinterklaas became the white-bearded, red-capped Santa Claus that Americans are familiar with thanks to such 19th-century literary masterpieces as the poem The Night Before Christmas and a Coca-Cola commercial campaign in the middle of the 20th century.

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What Was the Origin of the Christmas Tree Tradition?

There are many customs associated with Christmas, but maybe no custom is more well-liked than a decked tree. Christmas trees, genuine or fake, are a universal symbol of the season. However, how did trees come to symbolize Christmas?

The origin of the contemporary Christmas tree is uncertain because trees have been utilized in rituals and as decorations since antiquity. But a lot of people think it came from Germany. According to legend, in 723, the English missionary St. Boniface came upon pagans in Germany who were preparing a sacrifice at an oak tree devoted to the deity Thor.

Other stories state that a fir sprouted on the spot of the fallen oak while Boniface took an axe to the tree and, when not struck down by their deity, declared to the awed pagans that a neighboring evergreen was their “holy tree.”

Whether or not the story is genuine, evergreen trees were included into Christian rituals in Germany, and “paradise trees” started to sprout there in the Middle Ages. On December 24, the religious celebration day of Adam and Eve, these evergreen trees were put on display in homes as a representation of the Garden of Eden.

Paradise trees changed into Christmas trees as additional ornaments were added; Martin Luther is said to have put lit candles on a tree for the first time in the 16th century. Christmas trees had become a firmly established custom in Germany by the 19th century.

Christmas trees became popular all over the world, but the custom started to harm forests, particularly in Germany. Germans started producing fake goose-feather trees as a result in the 1880s.

The geese feathers were eventually swapped out for other materials when these trees travelled to various nations. A significant advance happened in the 1930s when it was claimed that a maker of toilet bowl brushes utilized leftover product to make an artificial tree.

Despite growing in popularity, these bristle trees were eventually replaced by aluminium and subsequently plastic variants. In 2021, 84 percent of Christmas trees shown in American homes were artificial.

FAQ

What Is Christmas?

Christmas used to be a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, but in the early 20th century it also evolved into a secular family event that was celebrated by both Christians and non-Christians. The secular celebration, which centers on the mythological character Santa Claus, frequently lacks Christian components.

When is Christmas celebrated?

On December 25 of the Gregorian calendar, many Christians celebrate Christmas. This day corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar for Eastern Orthodox churches that still utilize the Julian calendar for liturgical celebrations. In the majority of European nations and North America, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve.

How is Christmas celebrated?

Some of the most well-known Christmas customs, many of which have no Christian roots, are observed by both Christians and non-Christians. These traditions involve feasting (picnics and fireworks are popular in warm climates), adorning evergreen trees—or, in India, mango or bamboo trees—exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, and feasting.

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