Christmas is a festival which takes place during the season of winter. Every year on the 25th of December Christmas is joyfully celebrated worldwide in order to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is celebrated by Christians worldwide with lots of joy and happiness. On this day people decorate their houses and the Christmas tree and also set up a crib which shows virgin mother Mary with the baby Jesus. Around the world, Christians gear up for this special festival and enjoy it with family and friends by making Christmas cakes at home and giving their friends and families Christmas gifts.
Why is Christmas Celebrated on the 25th of December?
According to early Christmas tradition, Mary was informed on 25th March that she would give birth to a very special baby soon, and this fact was referred to as annunciation. Nine months after this on the 25th of December, Mary had God’s child whom she named Jesus. Therefore, this day came to be referred to as Christmas Day, when the son of God was born and this is why Christmas is important for Christians worldwide. Christians attend mass in the church to remember that Jesus had died for the people and then he came back to life. This is the history of Christmas.
Most scholars are not sure about the correct date of Christ’s birth. The church bishops in Rome took the decision to celebrate the festival of Christmas on December 25 every year, sometime during the 4th century. Christmas day is generally characterized by tinsel-decorated trees and a turkey dinner. Children eagerly wait for Santa Claus and his bag of presents, as this is a tradition of Christmas.
When is Christmas Eve Celebrated?
The evening before Christmas is referred to as Christmas eve. On Christmas eve Christians all over the world celebrate by attending midnight mass in church. During midnight mass the choir of the church sings a number of melodious carols and Christmas cake is distributed among the people who come to church to be a part of the midnight mass. The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth. Pope John Paul in the year 2004 called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ.
The History of Christmas
The angel named Gabriel was sent to meet virgin Mary to tell her that she would give birth to a child and that she has to name him Jesus and that he would be honoured as the son of God. Gabriel, the angel was regarded as God’s chief messenger. In the very old Jewish stories very small number of people had the holy spirit come upon them. The angel told Mary that Jesus, meaning saviour, was to be named like this as he was going to save the people. Jesus was placed in the manger after he was born. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The reason why Christmas is called Xmas is because Xmas is an abbreviation for the term Christmas. In the term Xmas, X means the Greek letter ‘chi’ which means Christ. X is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.
History of Santa Claus
Santa Claus- The story of Santa Claus can be traced all the way back to the 3rd Century. The story revolves around a monk named Nicholas. He was admired by many for his kindness and piety. It was believed that he traveled the countryside helping the sick and the poor. Over the years St. Nicholas’ became popular and soon he was regarded as a protector of sailors and children. The feast day of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on December 6th, which is his death anniversary. He was considered the most popular saint in Europe.
Rudolf the reindeer was a young reindeer who was always teased by the remaining reindeers for his glowing and large red nose. One day when it was a foggy Christmas eve, Santa Claus got worried that he would not possibly be able to deliver presents that day. Rudolf helped Santa Claus to deliver his gifts by leading the sleigh by the light of his glowing red nose. Rudolf’s story was an example of turning adversity into opportunity. There is a famous Christmas song also which is dedicated to Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer and every year on Christmas day this carol is joyfully sung worldwide.
Christians believe that the son of God washed away the sins of the people and spread kindness everywhere therefore he was honoured above all. So, as a time of Christmas approaches, Christians all over the world celebrate it in a very special way by decorating their houses with buntings, Christmas trees, and other kinds of decorations.