History of Christmas – Popular holiday in the world

History of Christmas – Popular holiday in the world

Christmas is mostly a Christian holiday. It remembers the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago. Christian churches hold religious services to celebrate Christmas. At midnight on Christmas Eve, most churches hold special candlelight services.

But Christmas is also a social and family holiday. It is a festival of goodwill, a time for family, friends, food, and gift-giving.

Many People decorate their homes, buy Christmas gifts for their family and friends all in order to share the joy of Christmas

The story of christ’s birth

The story of Christ’s birth comes mainly from the New Testament of the Bible, a holy book of Christianity. According to the Bible, Joseph and his wife, Mary, travelled from Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem. The town’s inn had no room for them, even though Mary was expecting a child. Her baby was born in a stable and placed in a manger, a criblike holder for animal feed.

In the fields near Bethlehem, an angel appeared before shepherds who were guarding their flocks. The angel told the shepherds that a holy child named Jesus Christ had been born. Other angels appeared and sang. After the angels had gone, the shepherds went to Bethlehem to see the child.

Three Wise Men came from the east looking for a newborn king. They followed a bright, guiding star called the Star of Bethlehem. It led them to Christ in the manger. There, they knelt in worship before the baby Jesus and gave him gifts.

Twelve days of christmas

The official Christmas season is popularly known as the Twelve Days of Christmas. It extends from the anniversary of Christ’s birth on December 25 to the feast of Epiphany on January 6. The Epiphany honours Jesus’ baptism and the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem.

The history of christmas

No one knows exactly when Jesus Christ was born. For many years, local Christian churches celebrated Christ’s birth at different times. Then, in the ad 300s, the Roman Catholic Church set the birth date at December 25.

At that time, older non-Christian festivals were celebrated around Christmas. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival honoring their god of harvest and god of light. Other Europeans held festivals in mid-December marking the end of the harvest season. The Roman Catholic Church probably chose December 25 to give a Christian meaning to these older festivals.

The Orthodox Church, the Christian church in the east, also began using December 25 as the birth date of Jesus. But the Orthodox Church places more importance on celebrating Jesus’ baptism on January 6.