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.
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.
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.
