Christmas is commemorated to keep in mind the birth of of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.
The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is often called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then returned to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was allowed to occur after sundown (and prior to sunrise the next day), so individuals had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.
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Christmas is now celebrated by people worldwide, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when family and friends come together and keep in mind the advantages they have. Individuals, and specifically kids, likewise like Christmas as it's a time when you give and get presents!
The Date of Christmas
Nobody knows the real birthday of Jesus! No date is given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on the 25th December? The early Christians definitely had numerous arguments regarding when it should be commemorated! Also, the birth of Jesus probably didn't take place in the year 1 however a little earlier, someplace in 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 commemorated on December 25th was in 336, throughout 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.
Nevertheless, there are various traditions and theories regarding why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.
A really early Christian custom said that the day when Mary was informed that she would have a really special baby, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25th - and it's still celebrated today on the 25th March. Nine months after the 25th March is the 25th December! March 25th was likewise the day some early Christians believed the world had been made, and likewise the day that Jesus passed away on when he was an adult. The date of March 25th was selected because individuals had actually calculated 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 died on the exact same day of the year.
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Some people also believe that December 25th might have likewise been selected due to the fact that the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter celebrations called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date - so it was a time when individuals currently commemorated things.
The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the quickest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It occurs on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans this implied that the winter season 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 festival is called Koleda.
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The Roman Festival of Saturnalia occurred in 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 believed the Winter Solstice occurred) and was the 'birthday' of the Pagan Sun god Mithra. In the pagan religion of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday and is where get that word from!
The Roman emperor Aurelian developed 'Sol Invictus' in 274. However there are records of early Christians connecting 14th Nisan to 25th March therefore the 25th December return to around 200!
The Jewish celebration of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that takes place at about the 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 permitted to practice their religious beliefs.
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Jesus was a Jew, so this might be another reason that assisted the early Church pick December the 25th for the date of Christmas!
Christmas had likewise been commemorated by the early Church on January 6th, when they also celebrated the Epiphany (which indicates the revelation that Jesus was God's kid) and the Baptism of Jesus. Now Epiphany mainly celebrates the see of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, however back then it celebrated both things! Jesus's Baptism was originally viewed as more crucial than his birth, as this was when he began his ministry. But quickly individuals desired a separate day to celebrate his birth.
Most of the world utilizes the 'Gregorian Calendar' carried out by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Before that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was utilized (named after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more accurate that the Roman calendar which had too many 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 second September 1752 was 14th September 1752.
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Many 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 celebrates it on the sixth January! In some part of the UK, January 6th is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the day that Christmas would have commemorated on, if the calendar hadn't been altered. Some people didn't want 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 thought that this was the right time to commemorate the birth of Jesus. They also took control of some of the customs from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian meanings, like Holly, Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols!
St Augustine of Canterbury was the individual who probably began the extensive celebration of Christmas in large parts of England by introducing Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century (other Celtic parts of Britain were already Christian however there aren't numerous 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 countries commemorate Christmas on the 25th December. Then individuals from Britain and Western Europe took Christmas on the 25th December all over the world!
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