Christmas is commemorated to remember the birth of of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.
The name 'Christmas' originates from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians bear in mind that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was enabled to happen after sundown (and prior to dawn the next day), so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.
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Christmas is now celebrated by individuals around the globe, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when family and friends come together and remember the advantages they have. Individuals, and especially children, also like Christmas as it's a time when you give and receive presents!
The Date of Christmas
Nobody understands the genuine birthday of Jesus! No date is given up the Bible, so why do we commemorate it on the 25th December? The early Christians definitely had lots of arguments regarding when it need to be commemorated! Also, the birth of Jesus probably didn't take place in the year 1 however somewhat previously, somewhere between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC, potentially in 4 BCE/BC (there isn't a 0 - the years go from 1 BC/BCE to 1!).
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The first documented date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). However it was not a main Roman state festival at this time.
However, there are several customs and theories as to why Christmas is commemorated on December 25th.
A really early Christian custom said that the day when Mary was informed that she would have a very special child, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25th - and it's still celebrated today on the 25th March. 9 months after the 25th March is the 25th December! March 25th was also the day some early Christians believed the world had been made, and likewise the day that Jesus died on when he was an adult. The date of March 25th was chosen due to the fact that individuals had determined that was the day on which Jesus died as an adult (the 14th of Nisan in the Jewish calendar) and they thought that Jesus was born and had actually passed away on the exact same day of the year.
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Some individuals likewise think that December 25th might have likewise been chosen due to the fact that the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date - so it was a time when individuals already celebrated things.
The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the fastest time between the sun increasing and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans this indicated that the winter was over and spring was coming and they had a celebration to celebrate it and worshipped the sun for winning over the darkness of winter. In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the Winter Solstice is known as Yule and is where we get Yule Logs from. In Eastern Europe the mid-winter celebration is called Koleda.
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The Roman Festival of Saturnalia happened between December 17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti implies 'birthday of the unconquered sun' and was hung on December 25th (when the Romans thought the Winter Solstice happened) and was the 'birthday' of the Pagan Sun god Mithra. In the pagan faith of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday and is where get that word from!
The Roman emperor Aurelian produced 'Sol Invictus' in 274. But there are records of early Christians linking 14th Nisan to 25th March therefore the 25th December return to around 200!
The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that happens at about the very same time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish individuals were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following many years of not being allowed to practice their faith.
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Jesus was a Jew, so this could be another factor that helped the early Church select December the 25th for the date of Christmas!
Christmas had also been commemorated by the early Church on January 6th, when they likewise commemorated the Epiphany (which indicates the discovery that Jesus was God's child) and the Baptism of Jesus. Now Epiphany primarily celebrates the go to of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, but back then it commemorated both things! Jesus's Baptism was initially viewed as more crucial than his birth, as this was when he began his ministry. But quickly individuals desired a separate day to commemorate his birth.
The majority of the world utilizes the 'Gregorian Calendar' carried out by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Before that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was used (named after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more precise that the Roman calendar which had a lot of days in a year! When the switch was made 10 days were lost, so that the day that followed the 4th October 1582 was 15th October 1582. In the UK the modification of calendars was made in 1752. The day after 2nd September 1752 was 14th September 1752.
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Lots Of Orthodox and Coptic Churches still use the Julian Calendar and so commemorate Christmas on the 7th January (which is when December 25th would have been on the Julian calendar). And the Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates it on the sixth January! In some part of the UK, January sixth is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the day that Christmas would have celebrated on, if the calendar had not been altered. Some individuals didn't wish to utilize the brand-new calendar as they thought it 'cheated' them out of 11 days!
Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so the early Christians believed that this was the right time to commemorate the birth of Jesus. They likewise took over a few of the customizeds from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian significances, like Holly, Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols!
St Augustine of Canterbury was the person who most likely started the prevalent celebration of Christmas in big parts of England by introducing Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century (other Celtic parts of Britain were currently Christian however there aren't lots of files about if or how they celebrated the birth of Jesus). St Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in Rome which church utilized the Roman Calendar, so western nations celebrate Christmas on the 25th December. Then people from Britain and Western Europe took Christmas on the 25th December all over the world!
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