Christmas

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Also called: Christ's Mass, Xmas, Yule, Yule Tide
Observed by:Christians around the world, as well as by non-Christians who observe the holiday's secular traditions.
Type: Christian
Significance: traditional birthdate of Jesus
Date: December 25, January 7 in Old Calendarist Eastern Orthodox Churches
Observances: religious services, gift giving, family meetings, decorating trees
Related to: Annunciation, Incarnation, Advent; the winter holiday season

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas combines the celebration of Jesus' birth with various other traditions and customs, many of which were influenced by ancient winter festivals. Christmas traditions include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill, giving, compassion, and quality family time.

Christmas Day falls on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day on December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6, while some Eastern Orthodox Churches (olt rite or old style Orthodox) celebrate Christmas on January 7, the date on the Julian calendar which corresponds to December 25. December 25 as a birthdate for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not widely considered to be his actual date of birth.[1]

Christmas is celebrated in most countries around the world, owing to the spread of Christianity and Western culture. Various local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced.

Contents

* 1 Etymology and names
* 2 History
o 2.1 Pre-Christian winter festivals
+ 2.1.1 Saturnalia
+ 2.1.2 Natalis Solis Invicti
+ 2.1.3 Yule
o 2.2 Origin of Christian festival
o 2.3 Middle Ages
o 2.4 The Reformation and the 1800s
o 2.5 The 20th century and after
* 3 The Nativity
* 4 Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts
* 5 Christmas tree and other decorations
* 6 Economics of Christmas
o 6.1 Commercialization of Christmas
* 7 Regional customs and celebrations
o 7.1 Social aspects and entertainment
o 7.2 Christmas carol media
* 8 Arts and media
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

Etymology and names

The Anglo-Saxons referred to Christmas as geol (Yule).[2] The word "Christmas" is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass." It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[2]

The words used to refer to the holiday in Spanish (navidad), Portuguese (natal), French (noël), Italian (natale), and Catalan (nadal) refer to the Nativity of Jesus. In contrast, the German name, Weihnachten, means "hallowed night," while the Dutch call it Kerstmis or Kerst.

Christmas is sometimes shortened to Xmas, an abbreviation that has a long history.[3] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-sixteenth century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.[4]

History

Pre-Christian winter festivals

Main article: List of winter festivals

A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures, in part because there was less agricultural work to be done during the winter. From a Christian perspective, Easter was the most significant feast in the church calendar.[5] Christmas was considered less significant, and the early church opposed the celebration of birthdays of church members.[6] The prominence of Christmas in modern times may reflect the continuing influence of the winter festival tradition, including the following festivals:

Saturnalia

Main article: Saturnalia

In Roman times, the best-known winter festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time of general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation of formal rules. Holly was also considered the key symbolic plant of the god Saturn and festival. It included the making and giving of small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults.[7] During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even