Christmas
(from Old English Cristes maesse, "Christ's mass"), Christian
festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It
is also a popular secular holiday.
According to a Roman almanac, the Christian festival of
Christmas was celebrated in Rome by AD 336.
In the eastern part of the Roman Empire, however, a festival
on January 6 commemorated the manifestation of God in both the birth and the
baptism of Jesus.
During the 4th century the celebration of Christ's birth on
December 25 was gradually adopted by most Eastern churches. In Jerusalem,
opposition to Christmas lasted longer, but it was subsequently accepted.
In the Armenian Church, a Christmas on December 25 was never
accepted; Christ's birth is celebrated on January 6.
After Christmas was established in the East, the baptism of
Jesus was celebrated on Epiphany, January 6. In the West, however, Epiphany was
the day on which the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus was celebrated.
The reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25
remains uncertain, but most probably the reason is that early Christians wished
the date to coincide with the pagan Roman festival marking the "birthday of
the unconquered sun" (natalis solis invicti); this festival
celebrated the winter solstice, when the days again begin to lengthen and the
sun begins to climb higher in the sky.
The traditional customs connected with Christmas have
accordingly developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the
celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar
observances at midwinter.
In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of
merrymaking and exchange of gifts.
Origins of the Celebration of Christmas December 25 was also regarded
as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness.
On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with
greenery and
lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor.
To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule
rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain, and central
Europe.
Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule
cakes,
greenery and fir trees,
The Christmas Tree and gifts and
greetings The Christmas Card
all commemorated different aspects of this festive season.
Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have
always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian.
Since the European Middle Ages, evergreens, as symbols of
survival, have been associated with Christmas.
Christmas is traditionally regarded as the festival of the
family and of children, under the name of whose patron,
Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, presents
are exchanged in many countries.
REFERENCE: Britannica 2002 |
