Christmas

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the First Sunday of Advent. This is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries and is observed by a majority of Christians; it is also celebrated culturally by many non-Christians and forms an integral part of the annual holiday season.

The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room, and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds, who then spread the word.

There are different hypotheses regarding the date of the birth of Jesus. In the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25, the date of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire. It is nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the Roman date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, celebrating that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity is more important than knowing Jesus Christ's exact birth date.

The customs associated with Christmas in various countries have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular holiday traditions include gift-giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and carolling; watching Christmas films; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; attending church services; a special meal; and displaying various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, poinsettias, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. Additionally, several related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, Christmas has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world.

Etymology

The English word Christmas is a shortened form of 'Christ's Mass'. The word is recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131. Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from the Greek Χριστός (Khrīstos, 'Christ'), a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ‎ (Māšîaḥ, 'Messiah'), meaning 'anointed'; and mæsse is from the Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.

The form Christenmas was also used during some periods, but is now considered archaic. The term derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas, particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in the Greek Χριστός (Christ), although some style guides discourage its use. This abbreviation has a precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where Χρ̄ is another abbreviation of the Greek word).

Other names

The Anglo-Saxons referred to Christmas as midwinter. The period corresponding to December and January was called Gēola ('Yule'), and this term was eventually equated with Christmastide; Old English Ġeōhel-dæg ('Yule Day') was sometimes used as a name for Christmas Day. Yule or Yuil survived as the main name for Christmastide in Scotland until the modern era.

A rare name for Christmas in Old English was Nātiuiteð ('Nativity'), from the Latin nātīvitās meaning 'birth'. 'Noel' (also 'Nowel' or 'Nowell', as in "The First Nowell") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs) meaning 'birth (day)'.

Koleda is the traditional Slavic name for Christmas and the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, to Slavic Christmastide rituals, some dating to pre-Christian times.

During the late Qing dynasty, the Shanghai News referred to Christmas by a variety of terms. In 1872, it initially called Christmas "Jesus' birthday" (Chinese: 耶穌誕日; pinyin: yēsū dànrì). However, from 1873 to 1881, the Qing dynasty used terms such as "Western countries' Winter Solstice" (Chinese: 西國冬至; pinyin: xīguó dōngzhì) and "Western peoples' Winter Solstice" (Chinese: 西人冬節; pinyin: xīrén dōngjiē); they settled on "Foreign Winter Solstice" (Chinese: 外國冬至; pinyin: wàiguó dōngzhì) in 1882. This term was gradually replaced by the now standard term "Festival of the birth of the Holy One" (Chinese: 聖誕節; pinyin: shèngdàn jiē) during the early twentieth century.

Nativity

The gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem of Judea to the Virgin Mary. In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to be counted for a census, and Jesus is born there and placed in a manger. Angels proclaim him a savior for all people, and three shepherds come to adore him. In the Gospel of Matthew, by contrast, three magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus.

History

Early and medieval era

In the 2nd century, the "earliest church records" indicate that "Christians were remembering and celebrating the birth of the Lord", an "observance [that] sprang up organically from the authentic devotion of ordinary believers"; although "they did not agree upon a set date". Though Christmas did not appear on the lists of festivals given by the early Christian writers Irenaeus and Tertullian, the early Church Fathers John Chrysostom, Augustine of Hippo, and Jerome attested to December 25 as the date of Christmas toward the end of the fourth century.

The earliest document to place Jesus's birthday on December 25 is the Chronograph of 354 (also called the Calendar of Filocalus), which also names it as the birthday of the god Sol Invictus (the 'Invincible Sun'). Liturgical historians generally agree that this part of the text was written in Rome in AD 336. This is consistent with the assertion that the date was formally set by Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome from 337 to 352. December 25 was the traditional date of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire, where most Christians lived, and the Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of Sol Invictus) had been held on this date since AD 274.