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[[Image:Merry Christmas.gif|right|thumb]]

[[Image:Merry Christmas.gif|right|thumb]]

'''Christmas''' is a [[Christian]] [[holiday]] which celebrates the birth of [[Jesus Christ]]. It is celebrated on December 25. The word "Christmas" comes from "Christ's [[mass]]." The Russian and Ukrainian churches also celebrate on December 25, but according to the Julian calendar. This corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar.

'''Christmas''' is a [[holiday]] which celebrates the birth of [[Jesus]]. It is celebrated on December 25. The word "Christmas" comes from "Christ's [[mass]]." The Russian and Ukrainian churches also celebrate on December 25, but according to the Julian calendar. This corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar.

The story of the birth of Christ is told in the opening chapters of the [[Gospel of Luke]] and the [[Gospel of Matthew]]. Each contains different elements of the Christmas story. The visit of the [[Archangel]] to the shepherds and the birth of Jesus in a [[manger]] are from Luke. The story of the [[Star of Bethlehem]] and the visit from the Wise Men bringing gifts of "[[gold]], and [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]]" are from Matthew.  

The story of the birth of Christ is told in the opening chapters of the [[Gospel of Luke]] and the [[Gospel of Matthew]]. Each contains different elements of the Christmas story. The visit of the [[Archangel]] to the shepherds and the birth of Jesus in a [[manger]] are from Luke. The story of the [[Star of Bethlehem]] and the visit from the Wise Men bringing gifts of "[[gold]], and [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]]" are from Matthew.  

==History==

==History==

[[Image:Parmigianino Virgin with Child.jpg|right|240px|The Holy Virgin with her Child]]

[[Image:Parmigianino Virgin with Child.jpg|right|thumb|The Holy Virgin with her Child]]

Festivals have always been celebrated around the time of the solstice. Two thousand years before Christ, the early Mesopotamians celebrated a 12-day new year around that time, which is still reflected in our custom of the 12 Days of Christmas. Their chief god, [[Marduk]], was supposed to battle annually against the forces of chaos, which the Mesopotamians believed were making the sunlight dwindle. The [[Mesopotamian]] King was supposed to be killed to go fight at Marduk's side. However, the king usually substituted a condemned prisoner and let him spend a day as the king. He was treated like the king for a day, then at the end of the day he was stripped and killed in the king's stead.

Nativity narratives feature prominently in both Matthew and Luke. Early Christians had a great deal of interest in establishing the date of the birth of Jesus. But no evidence could be found in the gospels. They proposed a wide variety of dates. In 221, Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) gave March 25 as the first day of Creation and of the conception of Jesus in his universal history. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. It implies a birth in December.

Some scholars assume that the historical Jesus was born in the Spring, rather than how Christian tradition indicates. It wasn't until around AD 350 that 25 December was appointed to be the Mass of Christ, probably to coincide with the date of the Winter Solstice. The early Catholic Church concurred, probably in order to draw parishioners away from licentious pagan festivals occurring at about the same time of year. The Romans decked their halls with green laurels and trees decorated with candles. This feast, called Saturnalia, was a time for masquerades and feasts and the trading of presents, including "lucky fruits," the ancestor of today's fruitcake.

The first recorded Christmas celebration was in 336 in Rome. This celebration is mentioned in a document called the Chronography of 354. Christmas played a prominent role in the Trinitarian controversy of the fourth century. Once that controversy died out, the status of Christmas declined. In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas was overshadowed by Epiphany (January 6). The holiday regained prominence in the time of Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor on December 25, 800.  

 

Christmas is a relatively unimportant holiday in the Christian liturgy (less important, for example, than the Feast of the Epiphany). 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 in ''A Christmas Carol.''  

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 in ''A Christmas Carol.''