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Traditionally observed on December 25, Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday
that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Although some churches observe it on different
dates, the fact is that the precise chronology of Jesus' birth and death is yet
to be determined. Christmas has many sides to it, some religious and some secular,
including the exchange of gifts, the Santa Claus myth, decoration and display of
the Christmas tree, and religious ceremonies. |
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History
We can trace the origin of Christmas to several pagan holidays. It was since AD
354 that the Christians in the West started celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ
on December 25, replacing an earlier date of January 6. By that time, the Christians
had appropriated several pagan festivals and traditions of the season that were
practiced in many parts of the Middle East and Europe, as a means of stamping them
out. Among those festivals were Saturnalia of the Romans, the birth celebrations
of sun-god Attis in Phrygia (December 25)
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and Persian sun-god Mithras (December 17-24).
The Nativity
The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christians celebrate Christmas
by remembering or re-creating the Nativity. While the Eastern Orthodox Church practices
the Nativity Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, the Western Church mostly
prefers celebrating Advent. Children often enact the events of the Nativity, or
sing some of the numerous Christmas carols that reference the event. Some Christians
display a small re-creation of the Nativity in their homes, using small figurines
to portray the key characters.
Santa Claus
In Western culture, a main feature of Christmas is the exchange of gifts among friends
and family members, some of them being attributed to Santa Claus. Santa Claus is
also known by other names, such as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle,
Saint Basil and Father Frost. Santa Claus is based on the tale about Saint Nicholas,
or Sinterklaas, who gave gifts on the eve of his feast day of December 6. He became
associated with Christmas in 19th century America and was renamed Santa Claus or
Saint Nick. In Britain and France too, Father Christmas and Pere Noel respectively
were made to adopt the Santa image.
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree owes its origin to the ancient pagan idea, later appropriated
by the Christians, that the evergreen tree represents a celebration of the renewal
of life. Christmas trees first became popular in Germany in the late 18th century.
Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments. The poinsettia then
became associated with Christmas, while other popular holiday plants include holly,
mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. In some parts of the world, it is
traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated
sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Town authorities also hang Christmas
banners from street lights and place Christmas trees in the town square.
Feasts and cards
A special meal of Christmas dishes is usually served on Christmas Day or Christmas
Eve. Another extremely popular tradition is to send Christmas cards to friends and
family members. Cards can also be produced with messages such as "Season's Greetings"
or "Happy Holidays", to include senders and recipients who may not celebrate Christmas.
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