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 remember that Jesus died for us and after that returned to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was permitted to happen after sundown (and before daybreak 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 commemorated by individuals around the globe, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when friends and family come together and keep in mind the good ideas they have. People, and particularly kids, also like Christmas as it's a time when you provide and get presents!
The Date of Christmas
No one knows the genuine birthday of Jesus! No date is given in the Bible, so why do we commemorate it on the 25th December? The early Christians definitely had numerous arguments regarding when it ought to be commemorated! Likewise, the birth of Jesus most likely didn't take place in the year 1 but slightly previously, someplace in between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC, perhaps in 4 BCE/BC (there isn't a 0 - the years go from 1 BC/BCE to 1!).
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The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th remained 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 celebration at this time.
Nevertheless, there are various customs and theories as to why Christmas is commemorated on December 25th.
A very early Christian custom stated that the day when Mary was told that she would have a very 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 thought 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 picked due to the fact that people had 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 passed away on the same day of the year.
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Some people also believe that December 25th may have likewise been selected since the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' happened 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 in between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans this meant that the winter season was over and spring was coming and they had a festival to commemorate it and worshipped the sun for winning over the darkness of winter season. In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the Winter Solstice is called 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 occurred 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 took place) 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 developed 'Sol Invictus' in 274. However there are records of early Christians linking 14th Nisan to 25th March therefore the 25th December go back to around 200!
The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish individuals had the ability to re-dedicate and praise in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following several years of not being permitted to practice their religion.
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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 likewise been commemorated by the early Church on January sixth, when they also commemorated the Epiphany (which suggests the discovery that Jesus was God's son) and the Baptism of Jesus. Now Epiphany generally celebrates the check out of the Wise Men to the child Jesus, however at that time it celebrated both things! Jesus's Baptism was originally seen as more important than his birth, as this was when he started his ministry. However soon individuals wanted a different day to commemorate his birth.
Most of the world uses the 'Gregorian Calendar' carried out by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Prior to that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was utilized (called after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more precise 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 celebrate 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 6th 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 use the brand-new calendar as they believed 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 over some of the custom-mades from the Winter Solstice and provided Christian significances, like Holly, Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols!
St Augustine of Canterbury was the person who probably began the widespread event of Christmas in large parts of England by introducing Christianity to the areas run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century (other Celtic parts of Britain were currently Christian however there aren't lots of documents about if or how they commemorated the birth of Jesus). St Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in Rome and that church utilized the Roman Calendar, so western countries commemorate 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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