Christmas is a Christian festival that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. The term “Christmas” (which means “mass on Christ’s day”) in English is a relatively recent invention. The term Yule may have originated from the Germanic jl or the Anglo-Saxon gel, both of which were used to refer to the feast of the winter solstice in ancient times. The terms for nativity in other languages, such as navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian, and Nol in French, are all likely to refer to the same thing. The German word Weihnachten literally translates as “holy night.” Since the early twentieth century, Christmas has also evolved into a secular family holiday that is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike, is devoid of Christian elements, and is marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts between relatives. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure known as Santa Claus plays a crucial role in the festivities. Advent begins on December 25, 2021, and has been observed as a federal holiday in the United States and nearly every other country in the world since its inception.

The beginnings and development of Christmas

The early Christian community made a distinction between the identification of the date of Jesus’ birth and the celebration of that event as part of the liturgical year. The actual commemoration of the day of Jesus’ birth took a long time to arrive. This opposition to celebrating martyrs’ birthdays or even the birth of Jesus was particularly strong during the first two centuries of the Christian church’s existence. Numerous Church Fathers made sarcastic remarks about the pagan custom of celebrating birthdays when, in fact, saints and martyrs should be commemorated on the days of their martyrdom, which are their true “birthdays,” according to the church’s interpretation of the phrase.

It is unclear where the date of December 25th was chosen as the date of Jesus’ birth came from. In this regard, the New Testament is devoid of any indications. When Sextus Julius Africanus discovered the date of Jesus’ birth in 221 and declared it to be the date of Jesus’ birth, it quickly became the universally accepted date. According to one widely accepted explanation, December 25 marked the Christianization of dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular Roman holiday commemorating the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter, and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer. Following the widespread acceptance of December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently drew parallels between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son of God. While this viewpoint has merit, it also raises the possibility of the Christian church appropriating a pagan festival at a time when the early church was adamant about distinguishing itself categorically from pagan beliefs and practices, which is a source of contention.

A second point of view contends that December 25 was chosen as the date of Jesus’ birth as a result of a priori reasoning that identified the spring equinox as the date of the creation of the world and the fourth day of creation, when light was created, as the day of Jesus’ conception. The spring equinox was identified as the date of the creation of the world, and the fourth day of creation, when light was created, as the day of Jesus’ conception (i.e., March 25). The date of Jesus’ birth was officially established on December 25, nine months after his birth. Jesus’ baptism on January 6 was traditionally celebrated in conjunction with the celebration of Jesus’ birth for a long period of time.

Christmas was first widely observed with a specific liturgy in the 9th century, but it did not achieve the liturgical significance of Good Friday or Easter, the other two major Christian holidays, until much later. The first Christmas mass is celebrated at midnight in Roman Catholic churches, and Christmas candlelight services are increasingly being held late in the evening on December 24 in Protestant churches. Christmas carols are intertwined with Scripture readings that trace the history of salvation from the Fall in the Garden of Eden to the coming of Christ during a special “lessons and carols” service on Christmas Eve. The service, which was established by E.W. Benson and adopted by the University of Cambridge, has gained widespread acceptance.

Western customs and traditions in the modern era

None of the contemporary Christmas traditions can be traced back to theological or liturgical affirmations, and the majority of them are only a few decades old. Sebastian Brant, a Renaissance humanist who wrote Das Narrenschiff (1494; The Ship of Fools), described the practice of putting branches of fir trees in the windows of houses. Despite the fact that the exact date and origin of the tradition of the Christmas tree are still up in the air, it appears that fir trees decorated with apples were first documented in Strasbourg in 1605. In 1611, a Silesian duchess recorded the first documented instance of candles being used on such trees. The Advent wreath, which is made of fir branches and decorated with four candles to represent the four Sundays of the Advent season, is a relatively recent invention, particularly in North America. A fir wreath with 24 candles (for the 24 days before Christmas, beginning on December 1) was originally used for the tradition, which began in the 19th century but has roots in the 16th. However, due to the awkwardness of having so many candles on the wreath, it has been reduced to four candles since the 19th century. Similarly, the Advent calendar, which has 24 openings, one for each day of the month beginning December 1, is a custom that is similar. According to legend, the calendar was created in the 19th century by a housewife from Munich who was fed up with having to answer the same question over and over again about when Christmas would arrive. The first commercial calendars were printed in Germany in 1851, marking the beginning of the modern era. When it comes to the commercialization of the holiday season, the intense preparation for Christmas that goes on has blurred the traditional liturgical distinction between Advent and the Christmas season, as evidenced by the placement of Christmas trees in sanctuaries well before December 25.

As time progressed through the nineteenth century, the practice of giving gifts to family members became increasingly popular. While the feast day served to remind Christians of God’s gift of Jesus to humankind from a theological standpoint, the arrival of the Three Wise Men, also known as the Magi, in Bethlehem suggested that Christmas was somehow associated with the giving of gifts. Because of the tradition of gift-giving, which dates back to the 15th century, many people believe that Christmas is a secular holiday that is primarily focused on family and friendships. This was one of the reasons why Puritans in both Old and New England opposed the celebration of Christmas, and why they were successful in their efforts to have it banned in both England and America.

Traditional secular family celebrations of Christmas are beautifully illustrated by a number of traditional English “Christmas” carols such as “Here We Come A-Wassailing” and “Deck the Halls,” which are both sung in the English language. It can also be seen in the tradition of sending Christmas cards, which began in England in the nineteenth century and has spread throughout the world. The connection between the Christian festival and the family holiday is further strengthened in countries such as Austria or Germany, where the Christ Child is identified as the giver of gifts to the family. St. Nicholas appears on his feast day (December 6) in some European countries, bringing children small gifts of candy and other small tokens of his generosity. Under the influence of the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”), the Christian saint Nicholas’ pre-Christmas role in North America was transformed into the increasingly central role of Santa Claus as the source of Christmas gifts for the family. Despite the fact that Santa Claus’s name and attire (which is a version of the traditional bishop’s dress) reveal his Christian roots, and while his role of questioning children about their past behavior is similar to that of St. Nicholas, he is generally regarded as a secular figure. When people in Australia attend open-air concerts of Christmas carols and eat their Christmas dinner on the beach, Santa Claus dresses in red swimming trunks with a white beard, which is a tradition in the country.

According to the tradition that the baby Jesus was born on the night of December 24, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, December 24, in most European countries. It is now customary to exchange gifts in North America on the morning of December 25, rather than the evening before. Christmas gifts were exchanged in the early hours of December 25th in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries when the family returned home from Christmas mass. Because of the time constraints of the gift-exchange on the evening of December 24, the Christmas mass was moved to the late afternoon of the following day. When it comes to opening gifts as a family in North America, the morning of December 25th has become so important that all but a few Catholic and Lutheran churches have abandoned the practice of holding services on that day. This is a striking illustration of how societal customs influence liturgical practices, as demonstrated by the exclusion of Catholic and some Lutheran and Episcopal churches from holding services on that day.

Given the significance of Christmas as one of the most important Christian feast days, most European countries observe December 26 as a second Christmas holiday, which is influenced by Christian traditions. This practice harkens back to the ancient Christian liturgical notion that the celebration of Christmas, as well as the celebrations of Easter and Pentecost, should take place over the course of a full week. The once-weeklong celebration, on the other hand, has been gradually reduced to just one day on Christmas Day and one additional holiday on December 26.

Eastern and Oriental Orthodox customs and traditions in the modern era

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in Eastern Orthodox churches. On the other hand, for those who continue to observe liturgical observances according to the Julian calendar, this date corresponds to January 7 according to the Gregorian calendar. Christmas is celebrated in a variety of ways by the churches of the Oriental Orthodox communion. For example, in Armenia, which was the first country to recognize Christianity as its official religion, the church has its own calendar, with the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrating Christmas on January 6, according to its own calendar. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which has been in existence since the 4th century and celebrates Christmas on January 7, is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Although Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in most churches of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All East, Christmas is celebrated on January 6 in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity, which is shared by the Armenian Apostolic Church and Syriac Orthodox. Members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria observe the feast of St. Mark on December 25, which corresponds to Khiak 29 on the ancient Coptic calendar, which is observed on December 25 on the Julian calendar.

Customs in other parts of the world today

Due to the expansion of Christianity beyond Europe and North America, the celebration of Christmas has spread to societies all over the world, including those in non-Western countries. Christian minorities do not constitute the majority population in many of these countries, and as a result, the religious holiday has not evolved into a cultural celebration. Consequently, because the people in these societies were exposed to Christianity as a religion and cultural artifact of Western civilization, their Christmas customs often resemble Western traditions.

Christmas celebrations in South and Central America are marked by a variety of religious and secular traditions that are distinct from one another. Children in Mexico try to break a piata filled with toys and candy in the days leading up to Christmas, reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in the days before the birth of Jesus. A festive celebration of Christmas in Brazil takes place during the summer, and it includes picnics, fireworks, and other festivities, as well as a solemn procession of priests into the church to celebrate midnight mass.

It is customary in some parts of India to substitute a mango tree or a bamboo tree for the traditional evergreen Christmas tree, and houses are decorated with mango leaves and paper stars. Christmas is primarily observed as a Christian holiday and is not widely observed in other cultures.

Using Japan as an example, we can see how things can be done differently in other countries. While the religious aspects of the holiday are widely observed in that predominantly Shint and Buddhist country, the secular aspects—Christmas trees and decorations, even the singing of Christmas songs such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or “White Christmas”—are widely observed in place of the religious aspects.

Who Is Santa Claus and Where Did He Come From?

St. Nicholas, a monk born in Turkey around 280 A.D., is the originator of the Santa Claus legend. St. Nicholas, known as the protector of children and sailors, gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick.

When Dutch families gathered in New York in the late 18th century to commemorate the death of “Sint Nikolaas” (Dutch for Saint Nicholas), or “Sinter Klaas” for short, St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture. This abbreviation gives rise to the name “Santa Claus.”

Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1822, which is better known today by its first line: “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.” Santa Claus is depicted in the poem as a jolly man who delivers toys by flying from house to house on a sled drawn by reindeer.

When political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore’s poem to create the image of Old Saint Nick we know today, he immortalized Santa Claus as a jolly man in red with a white beard and a sack of toys.

Facts about Christmas

In the United States alone, 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold each year. In the United States, there are about 21,000 Christmas tree growers, and trees are typically grown for about 15 years before being sold.
Christmas celebrations in the Middle Ages were raucous and rowdy, similar to today’s Mardi Gras parties.
When Christmas was banned: From 1659 to 1681, Boston made it illegal to celebrate Christmas, and violators were fined five shillings.
On June 26, 1870, the United States declared Christmas a federal holiday.
Captain John Smith’s 1607 Jamestown settlement drank the first eggnog made in the United States.
Poinsettias are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister in Mexico who introduced the red-and-green plant to the United States in 1828.
Since the 1890s, the Salvation Army has dispatched Santa Claus-dressed donation collectors into the streets.
In 1939, Robert L. May’s imagination created Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all.” To entice customers into the Montgomery Ward department store, the copywriter wrote a poem about reindeer.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition began in 1931 with construction workers.