Christmas

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Christmas is a holiday which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December 25th by the Roman Catholic church and most Protestant denominations, and on January 7th by the Orthodox Catholic Church.

In Western countries, during the Christmas season people generally hang up colored lights, place a pine tree (Christmas tree) in their house, sing carols, and exchange gifts. Gift-giving commemorates the gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi, and is symbolic of the fact that Jesus came as the greatest gift of all.

History

Christmas has had a long and complex history. Christmas is a relatively unimportant holiday in the Christian liturgy (less important, for example, than the Feast of the Epiphany). It is usually assumed that the historical Jesus was born in the Spring. The Catholic Church may have set a date near the date of the Winter Solstice in order to draw parishioners away from licentious pagan festivals occuring at about the same time of year. Early Protestants, including the Puritans who settled in Plymouth, did not celebrate Christmas, which they denounced as Papist.

Many of the customs we have come to associate with Christmas developed in Victorian England, notably the Christmas Tree (which originated in Germany and was introduced in England by Prince Albert). The concept of Christmas as a family-centered celebration and a time of generosity, good will, and friendliness to neighbors, was promoted and codified by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

In the United States, the image of Santa Claus and his reindeer has been shaped by Clement Moore's poem, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (with the famous opening line "'Twas the night before Christmas.") Images created by the Coca-Cola company in the 1930s also played a role. In other countries, the depictions of Santa vary widely; in the Netherlands, for example, he is shown (correctly) as wearing a bishop's mitre.

In the United States, during the twentieth century, gift-giving assumed a greater and greater role, and by mid-century had become of great commercial importance, to the point where some felt the religious aspects were becoming forgotten. As Stan Freberg put it[1] in 1958, "There are two S's in Christmas and they're both dollar signs." The single week before Christmas currently accounts for 25% to 30% of all retail sales. Meanwhile, the relatively unimportant Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which falls at about the same time, evolved to become a sort of Jewish counterpart to Christmas. In workplaces and public dialog, the two celebrations were referred to as "the holiday season."

The tension between religious and secularized Christmas has waxed and waned periodically over the years. Bing Crosby, a devout Catholic, initially refused to sing White Christmas because of its having been written by a Jew and containing no explicitly religious content; he changed his mind; the song become his greatest hit.

Modern-day cultural significance

In recent years, the celebration of Christmas has become part of the "culture wars," with Christian conservatives asking for an increased recognition of the religious core of the holiday, and for maintaining a separation between it and other holidays occuring at the same time of yeaer, while liberals would rather see it combined with other seasonal holidays.

Fox News pundits John Gibson and Bill O'Reilly claim that Christmas has come under attack by "liberals."

Notes and references

  1. in a recording, "Green Christmas"