What Is Christmas?

You probably know that Christmas is celebrated on December 25. In the United States, families distribute gifts that Santa Claus left under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Many attend church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, and later gather for Christmas dinner with extended family.

Christmas is the observance of Jesus’ humble birth to a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem. The holiday also celebrates the events surrounding his birth, such as an angel’s appearance to shepherds, telling them to visit the newborn king.

Although the Church doesn’t consider it the most important Christian holiday, Christmas is certainly the most popular, at least in terms of cultural and social significance.

The early Church, believing that events later in Jesus’s life should be the focus, didn’t even consider it all that significant. What’s more, when Church leaders first discussed observing the birthday of Jesus, some argued against celebrating it like you would another great person in history. Nonetheless, the Church had enough pro-observance support to mark the calendar.

Neither the New Testament nor any historical record marks the exact date of Jesus’s birth. As a result, the Church initially considered many different dates, including January 2, March 21, March 25, April 18, April 19, May 20, May 28, November 17, and November 20. The Western Church first observed December 25 in the fourth century, and eventually Eastern Churches followed suit.

Christmas has its origins as a pagan holiday. December 25 was selected to line up with several pagan Roman holidays that celebrated the winter solstice and worship of the sun.

Most of the traditional customs of Christmas, such as gift giving, tree decorating, light hanging, and feasting, come from sources other than the Church.

The historical roots of Santa Claus come from many sources. The earliest known inspiration for the legend comes from the fourth century in the form of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek Christian figure known for his generosity to the poor.

Mentions of Santa Claus types of figures appear in Germanic lore and various northern European religions that thrived before Christianity took hold. The American version of Santa Claus seems to have originated from a Dutch legend about Sinter Klaas, which settlers brought to America in the seventeenth century. Americans embraced the idea of Santa Claus, who was said to deliver gifts to good boys and girls on Christmas Eve.

To many Americans, Santa Claus embodies the spirit of giving. To celebrate the nature of Santa Claus during the Christmas holidays, many people not only give gifts to loved ones, but they also donate time and money to charities.

Christmas is an each year festival memorialize the birth of Jesus, attended on 25 December. Christmas is public holiday in many of the word nation’s. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in conformity with Messianic prophecies.
Even though the exact date of Jesus birth is unknow, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25. Most Christian celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calenders which is become a tradition for other nations also.
Christmas Celebration

Christmas is the kind of festival celebrated in more than 160 countries throughout the world by children, women’s and men’s. There are many ways to celebrate Christmas in many countries according to their tradition and culture. There are 3 days in which one can celebrate the holidays.

1_ first day of celebration is the day before
Christmas, which is known as Christmas Eve.
2_ second day is Christmas day, which is celebrated on 25 December each year.
3_ Third day is know as Boxing day, celebrated after the Christmas day, on 26 December.

  Like Muslims the also give gifts to children and their parents. They have different style of gift giving. Like two couples together on the night of Christmas under Christmas tree give gifts to each other. As the Christmas morning appear they they wishing merry Christmas to everyone.

Secrets you need to know about Christmas
The name Christmas is derived from the names “mass on Christ’s Day.” Earlier, the festival was referred to as Yule, a name derived from the Germans’ winter solstice as jõl and by the people of England or as they were formerly referred to the Anglo-Saxons. The festival is celebrated on the 25th December annually as a remembrance of Christ’s birth. But no substantial proof has ever been given that on this particular day, Christ was born.
While this day was meant to be a Christian’s institution, this festival is celebrated even among the pagans as a secular holiday for families. Furthermore, the cause of the celebration itself has been lost sight of. Its religious purposes are never regarded, especially in this 21st century. The holiday that has now become secular and is now devoid of Christianity and in their place Santa clause, a mythical figure, has been placed.

Is 25th December the day when Christ was born?

The first Christmas celebration on 25th December is traced to be in 336, during the time of Roman Emperor Constantine, the first Emperor of Rome to become a Christian. Various Roman festivals took place on 25th December; thus, some individuals have believed that these festivals influenced the celebration of Christmas on that day.
While this may appear to be true, some individuals believe that this festival’s dating has nothing to do with the Romans’ influence.
It is commonly known that December is in the winter season. When Christ was born, the shepherds were out on the hills with their flock. It gets very cold during the winter season. Therefore it is very unlikely that the shepherds went out with their flock at this time of the year.
This practical evidence proves that Christ was not born on the 25th December thus making the dating of Christmas questionable.
The 25th March belief

It is estimated that it takes approximately 9 months or 40 weeks (the number used interchangeably with 9 months) of pregnancy for a child to be delivered.
An ancient tradition of the Christian states that on the 25th March (The month of Nisan, according to the Jewish calendar), the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would have a special baby called Jesus. In calculation, nine months added to the 25th March, landed them on the 25th December.
Moreover, the 25th March date was chosen because individuals believed that Jesus Christ died an adult on that day. Therefore they thought Christ was conceived and died on the same day of the year.
However, this belief is not independent. It is entirely dependent on the belief that Christ was born on the 25th December, the day Christians celebrate Christmas. Giving reason to all this, with the recent scientific data about the duration of pregnancies, only a small 4% of the pregnancies take exactly 9 months before the baby is delivered. This makes it very unlikely that Mary could have delivered on Christmas day, 25th December.

Therefore, we can rightfully say that Christmas is a celebration of the Christians in remembrance of the birth of Christ.