Christmas (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning
"Christ's Mass")
is an annual festival commemorating the
birth of Jesus
Christ,[7][8]
observed most commonly on December 25.
its history is very interesting.
1.
Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are
unknown, by the early-to-mid fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed
Christmas on December 25,[23] a
date that was later adopted in the East.
2.
December 25 was the date the Romans marked as
the winter solstice,[35]
the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. the Romans had a series of
pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled
at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals.
(The traditional festival appears to be appropriated by Christanity)
3.
"Christmas" is a shortened form of
"Christ's mass".
It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase
first recorded in 1038[8]
followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131.[45]
Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos
(Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew
Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ),
"Messiah",
meaning "anointed";[46][47] and mæsse
is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.
4.
Many popular customs associated with Christmas
developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with certain
elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around
the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted
to Christianity. These elements, including the Yule log
from Yule and gift giving from Saturnalia,[102]
became syncretized
into Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has
also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a
sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival-like state in the Middle
Ages,[103]
to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a
19th-century transformation.[104][105]
Additionally, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion
within certain Protestant groups, such as the Puritans, due
to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.[60][106]
Jehovah's Witnesses also reject the celebration
of Christmas.
5.
Prior to and through the early Christian centuries, winter festivals—especially those centered
on the winter solstice—were the most popular of the year
in many European pagan cultures. Reasons included the fact that less
agricultural work needed to be done during the winter, as well as an
expectation of better weather as spring approached.[108]
Many modern Christmas customs have been directly influenced by such festivals,
including gift-giving and merrymaking from the Roman Saturnalia,
greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year, and Yule logs
and various foods from Germanic feasts.[109]
The Egyptian deity Horus,
son to goddess Isis,
was celebrated at the winter solstice.
6.
Following the Parliamentarian
victory over Charles I during the English
Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647
7.
The Parliament of Scotland officially abolished
the observance of Christmas in 1640, claiming that the church had been
"purged of all superstitious observation of days".[125]
It was not until 1958 that Christmas again became a Scottish public holiday.
8.
In Colonial
America, the Pilgrims of New England shared radical Protestant
disapproval of Christmas.[106]
The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when
they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World working – thus demonstrating
their complete contempt for the day.[106]
Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the
laboring classes in England.[129]
Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659.[106]
The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund
Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating
Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.[130]
9.
Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after
the American Revolution, when it was considered an
English custom.[132]
George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on the day after
Christmas during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Christmas
being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.
10. With
the atheistic Cult of Reason in power during the era of Revolutionary France, Christian Christmas religious
services were banned and the three
kings cake was forcibly renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical
government policies.[133][134]
11.
In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th
century following the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
wife of King George III.
12.
Up to the 1950s, in the UK, many Christmas
customs were restricted to the upper classes and better-off families. The mass
of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later
became general. The Christmas tree was rare.
13.
Some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, including those of
Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Jerusalem, mark feasts
using the older Julian calendar. As of 2016, there is a difference
of 13 days between the Julian calendar and the modern Gregorian calendar, which is used
internationally for most secular purposes. As a result, December 25 on the
Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the calendar used by most
governments and people in everyday life. Therefore, the aforementioned Orthodox
Christians mark December 25 (and thus Christmas) on the day that is
internationally considered to be January 7.
14.
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
which maintains the traditional Armenian custom of celebrating the birth of
Christ on the same day as Theophany (January 6), but uses the Julian
calendar for the determination of that date. As a result, this church
celebrates "Christmas" (more properly called Theophany) on the day
that is considered January 19 on the Gregorian calendar in use by the majority
of the world.
15.
Christmas celebrations have also been prohibited
by atheist
states such as the Soviet Union[227]
and more recently majority Muslim states such as Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei.[228]
16.
