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Christmas is commemorated to remember 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 in some cases called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians bear in mind that Jesus died for us and after that returned to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was enabled to happen after sundown (and before daybreak 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 people all over the world, whether they are Christians or not. It's a time when friends and family come together and keep in mind the good things they have. Individuals, and especially kids, likewise like Christmas as it's a time when you give and get presents!

The Date of Christmas

Nobody knows the genuine 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 many arguments as to when it need to be commemorated! Likewise, the birth of Jesus most likely didn't take place in the year 1 however slightly 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 celebrated on December 25th was in 336, throughout the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the very first Christian Roman Emperor). However it was not a main Roman state celebration at this time.

Nevertheless, there are many different customs and theories regarding why Christmas is commemorated on December 25th.

A really early Christian custom stated that the day when Mary was told 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 thought the world had actually been made, and also the day that Jesus passed away on when he was an adult. The date of March 25th was picked because individuals had determined that was the day on which Jesus passed away as an adult (the 14th of Nisan in the Jewish calendar) and they believed that Jesus was born and had died on the exact same day of the year.

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Some people likewise think that December 25th might have likewise been selected since the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter celebrations called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' happened in December around this date - so it was a time when people currently commemorated things.

The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the fastest time in between the sun increasing and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans this suggested that the winter was over and spring was coming and they had a celebration 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 festival is called Koleda.

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The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place in between December 17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti implies 'birthday of the unconquered sun' and was held on December 25th (when the Romans thought 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 created 'Sol Invictus' in 274. But there are records of early Christians linking 14th Nisan to 25th March and so the 25th December go back to around 200!

The Jewish celebration of Lights, Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that takes place at about the same time as December). Hanukkah commemorates when the Jewish people were able to re-dedicate and praise in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following several years of not being allowed to practice their religious beliefs.

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Jesus was a Jew, so this could be another factor that assisted the early Church select December the 25th for the date of Christmas!

Christmas had likewise been celebrated by the early Church on January 6th, when they likewise commemorated the Epiphany (which suggests 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 at that time it commemorated both things! Jesus's Baptism was initially seen as more crucial than his birth, as this was when he started his ministry. But quickly individuals wanted a different day to celebrate his birth.

Most of the world utilizes the 'Gregorian Calendar' carried out by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Prior to that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was utilized (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 change of calendars was made in 1752. The day after 2nd September 1752 was 14th September 1752.

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Numerous Orthodox and Coptic Churches still utilize the Julian Calendar therefore 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 6th is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the day that Christmas would have commemorated on, if the calendar had not been altered. Some individuals didn't wish to utilize the 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 correct time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They also took control of 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 most likely started the prevalent event of Christmas in large parts of England by presenting Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the sixth century (other Celtic parts of Britain were already Christian but there aren't lots of files 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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