Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday observed generally on December 25to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birthday of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived,the date of the Roman winter solstice,or one of various ancient winter festivals.Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians worldwide,and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several figures, known as Saint Nicholas and certain mythological figures such as Father Christmas and Santa Claus among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
Etymology
The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century.Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century.Hence, Xmas is sometimes used as an abbreviation for Christmas.
Christmas worldwide
The Christmas season is celebrated in different ways around the world, varying by country and region.
Africa
Nigeria
Christmas Day is a public holiday which is celebrated mainly in the southern and eastern parts of Nigeria. Nigerians have special traditions they follow to celebrate Christmas. Almost everyone goes to church on Christmas Day. Weeks before the day, people buy lots of hens, turkeys, goats and cows. Children hover around the beasts, taunting, and mostly gawking at them. There are feverish preparations for travel, holidays, and exchange of gifts, carolling and all manner of celebrations.
On Christmas Eve, traditional meals are prepared. In Yoruba, such meals usually include Iyan, (pounded yam) eba or amala, served with peppery stewed vegetables. People find themselves eating this same meal three to four times on that day, as they are offered it at every house they visit; and according to Yorùbá customs, it was considered rude to decline to eat when offered food. Other meals include rice served with chicken stew, which is a bit similar to the Indian curry stew. Some families would include a delicacy called Moin-moin; which is blended black eyed beans, mixed with vegetable oil and diced liver, prawns, chicken, fish and beef. The concoction is then wrapped in large leaves and then steamed until cooked.
Another tradition is that of decorating homes (compounds) and churches with both woven and unwoven palm fronds, Christmas trees and Christmas lights. There are the festive jubilations on the streets, the loud crackling of fireworks and luminous starry fire crackers going off, traditional masquerades on stilts parading about and children milling about displaying their best clothes, or Christmas presents. There are no other celebrations that compare to Christmas festivities in Nigeria, where everyone can personalize their own festival, and one family’s gusto merges with others; both physically and psychologically, creating a universe of fun and bonhomie.
The Igbos who are the largest Christian group within Nigeria celebrate Christmas by going to church on Christmas morning, coming together as a large family, even those who traveled from far to eat together as a family. Depending on the families economic status a large animal (cow or goat) is purchased, prepared and eaten during the celebration. One or several chickens are also prepared and eaten. People visit family and friends and enjoy the day. Parents usually purchase gifts for children and each other as well as other family members.
Ethiopia
Christmas is a public holiday in Ethiopia, and on Christmas Eve's night(Christmas Eve is on January 6, Christmas on January 7), Christian priests carry a procession through town carrying umbrellas with fancy decorations. (Christmas is called Ganna in Ethiopia) Then the procession finally ends at local churches where Christmas mass is held. (Christmas mass can also be held on Christmas morning) Then on Christmas morning, the people open presents and then they play outdoor sports (that are native to Africa) to celebrate. Usually the wealthy shares a medium sized feast with the poor and a large feast with there family and friends. Dishes include:
* Doro Wat
* Injera
Most people usually put up decorations that symbolize something relating to Christmas, like a male infant to represent the birth of Christ, or a small Christmas tree to represent Christmas decorations.
Asia
Bangladesh
Christianity was first brought to the historic region of Bengal (now divided between Bangladesh and India) in the sixteenth century by Portuguese traders and missionaries. Over the next few centuries, an indigenous Bengali Christian community emerged and greatly contributed to Bengali culture, intellectual thought and society. Apart from Bengali Christians, a significant portion of the tribal population in Bangladesh are Christians. They include most of the Garos in Mymensingh and many members of the diverse tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
In Bangladesh, Christmas Day is celebrated by Bengali Christians as Boro Din, or Great Day. The day is a national holiday and is officially celebrated by the President of Bangladesh in Bongo Bhaban. Bengali Christians greet family and friends by saying Shubho Boro Din, or Greetings of the Great Day, and offer traditional sweets and pithas (traditional Bengali cakes). Their homes are decorated with local Christmas handicrafts while artificial stars signifying the Star of Bethlehem are hung on rooftops. Christmas celebrations are also popular with the urban middle class in the country with hotels, cafes, restaurants and theme parks hosting festivities and special events.
China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau)
In the People's Republic of China, December 25 is not a legal holiday. However, it is still designated as a public holiday in China's special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, both former colonies of Western powers with (nominal) Christian cultural heritage.
In the mainland, the small percentage of Chinese citizens who consider themselves Christians unofficially, and usually privately, observe Christmas.[1] Many other individuals celebrate Christmas-like festivities even though they do not consider themselves Christians. Many customs, including sending cards, exchanging gifts, and hanging stockings are very similar to Western celebrations. Commercial Christmas decorations, signs, and other symbolic items have become increasingly prevalent during the month of December in large urban centres of mainland China, reflecting a cultural interest in this Western phenomenon, and, sometimes, retail marketing campaigns as well.
In Hong Kong, where Christmas is a public holiday and a major retail period,many buildings facing Victoria Harbour will be decked out in Christmas lights. Christmas trees are found in major malls and other public buildings, and in some homes as well, despite the small living area. Catholics in Hong Kong can attend Christmas Mass.
India
Being a British colony until 1947, many British traditions stayed on in India.Christmas is a state holiday in India, although Christianity in India is a minority with only 2.3% of the population. Sincere devotees attend the church services. In many of the schools that are run by the Christian missionaries, the children actively participate in the programmes. Christmas often coincides with the Makar Sakranti, the celebration of the Winter solstice.
Christmas is also known as bada din (the big day). The presents are given to one another and "Merry Christmas" is wished. India being a multicultural nation, many different languages are spoken here. In Hindi and Urdu, Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Bade Din ki Mubarak'; in Sanskrit it is 'Krismasasya shubhkaamnaa'; in Bengali 'Barodiner shubhechha janai';in Telugu 'Christhu jayanthi shubhakankshalu';and in Tamil it's 'Christhu Jayanthi Nalvaalthukal'.In India, Father Christmas or Santa Claus is held to be the giver of presents to children from a horse and cart. Santa Claus is known as 'Christmas Baba' in Hindi and 'Christmas Thaathaa' in Telugu and Tamil.Commercialisation and open markets are however bringing more secular Christmas celebration to the public sphere, even though it is not widely celebrated as a religious holiday. Days before the festival, markets take a colourful look as they are decorated with traditional Christmas trees, stars, images of Santa, balloons and festoons. Gift marketers too create many goods for Christmas and support them by launching advertising campaigns through newspapers, radio and television.
Indonesia
Christmas in Indonesia is a popular festival, despite Christianity in Indonesia only accounting for 8% of the population. While Christians revere Jesus as the Son of God, Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet of Allah, and because of this, many in Indonesia also celebrate his birth. Some Muslim clerics feel that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas, but most Indonesian Muslims ignore their warnings.[citation needed] Christmas is also popular among the animist and Hindu populations in Indonesia.
In 2000, the feast was overshadowed by the Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings.
Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Israel is mainly a Jewish state, but with strong emphasis on religious freedom; thus, Jewish Israelis do not celebrate Christmas. The celebration of Hanukkah falls at approximately the same time, but it has not undergone the same osmosis of Christmas-like practices (such as exchange of gifts) that the holiday has in the United States and Europe. Israeli Arabs are chiefly Muslim, and thus do not celebrate Christmas either, but there is a minority of Christian Israeli Arabs who do celebrate Christmas. Given the diversity of denominations among Christian Israeli Arabs, some celebrate with the Western Churches on the Gregorian 25 December, and others with the Eastern Churches on the Gregorian 7 January (Julian 25 December).
The pattern of Christmas observance among the Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is similar to that of their Israeli Arab brethren across the Green Line.
Although Christianity is a minority in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Christmas is extremely important in both areas due to the region's significance as the place where Jesus lived, and as a destination for Christian pilgrims around the world, especially during Christmastime. Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, lies in the West Bank, with the Church of the Nativity being a prominent symbol of the city for both Christian and Muslim Palestinians as well as a site of pilgrimage for thousands annually. Nazareth, Jesus' hometown and another pilgrimage site, is a majority-Arab city lying in northern Israel not far from the Green Line. Finally, Jerusalem is within Israel, and contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; although it is overall the largest centre of Christian pilgrimage, its associations with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus tend to focus pilgrimage towards Eastertide rather than Christmas. Christian pilgrimage makes up a significant proportion of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank, and accounts for a substantial proportion of tourism in Israel.
Japan
Encouraged by the commercial sector, the secular celebration of Christmas is popular in Japan, though Christmas is not a national holiday. Gifts are exchangedand children's presents are left next to their pillow at night. Christmas parties are held on and around Christmas Day; a unique feature of these celebrations is the Japanese type of Christmas cake, often a white whipped cream cake with strawberries. Christmas lights decorate buildings and trees during Christmastime, and Christmas trees adorn living areas.Christmas Eve has become a holiday for couples to spend time togetherand exchange gifts.The first recorded Christmas in Japan was celebrated with a Mass held by Jesuit missionaries in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1552. Some believe that unrecorded celebrations were held before this date, starting in 1549 when Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Japan to begin missionary work. Starting with the expulsion of missionaries in 1587, Christianity was banned throughout Japan beginning in 1612, a few years into the Edo Period, and the public practice of Christmas subsequently ceased. However, a small enclave of Japanese Christians, known as Kakure Kirishitan ("hidden Christians"), continued to practice underground over the next 250 years.
Christianity in Japan along with Christmas practices reemerged at the beginning of the Meiji period. Influenced by American customs, Christmas parties were held and presents were exchanged. The practice slowly spread in major cities, but its proximity to the New Year's celebrations makes it a smaller focus of attention. During World War II, all celebrations and customs, especially those from America, were suppressed. From the 1960s, with the aid of a rapidly expanding economy, and influenced by American TV dramas, Christmas became popular, but mostly not as a religious occasion. For many Japanese, celebrating Christmas is similar to participating in a matsuri, where participants often do not consider which kami is being celebrated, but believe that the celebration is a tribute nevertheless. From the 1970s onwards, many songs and TV drama series presented Christmas from a lover's point of view, for example 'Last Christmas' by Exile.
The birthday of the current emperor, Akihito, on December 23 is a national holiday. Shortly thereafter businesses close for the New Year's holidays, usually reopening on the first weekday after January 3.
Lebanon
Christmas Day is a national holiday in Lebanon. For Lebanese Christians it is one of the most important holidays of the year; many Lebanese Muslims celebrate Christmas as well, often with Christian friends and neighbours. A poll has shown that some two thirds of the Lebanese people celebrate Christmas, while less than half of the population is Christian. Marketing and commercialization are bringing a more secular celebration of Christmas to the Lebanese public; many families of Lebanese Muslims also decorate their homes with Christmas trees during the holiday season.
Christmas lights fill the roads and streets of many Lebanese towns. Homes are also decorated, with many Christian families setting up a Christmas tree, and a creche, or Nativity Scene, with miniature figures of the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, in addition to the shepherds and the three Kings of Orient. Churches in Lebanon are open for midnight mass and hymns, while Christmas dinner and visits are common among family and friends. Lebanese Christmas food is a blend of Western and local Middle Eastern fare. It is normal to have traditional Lebanese dishes alongside a turkey as well, for example. Various alcoholic beverages are served, wine being the most common. Christmas concerts are popular, as are carols, whether local or Western; Christmas carols and hymns are played and sung constantly throughout the month of December, and continue to be heard well into the new year, particularly because of the Armenian Christmas, which is celebrated on January 6. Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab, who is an international celebrity, donates a giant Christmas tree, 25 meters tall, every year, for public display in Downtown Beirut. Christmas greetings are often given in French or English.
Malaysia
Although Christmas is a public holiday in Malaysia, much of the public celebration is commercial in nature and has no overt religious overtones. Occasionally, Christian activist groups do buy newspaper advertorials on Christmas or Easter but this is largely only allowed in English newspapers and permission is not given every year. The advertorials themselves are usually indirect statements. There has been controversy over whether or not the national government has exerted pressure on Malaysian Christians not to use Christian religious symbols and hymns that specifically mention Jesus Christ.
Pakistan
Christians are the second largest religious minority community in Pakistan after Hindus. The total number of Christians in Pakistan is approximately 2,800,000 in 2008, or 1.6% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Roman Catholic and half Protestant.
In Pakistan, Christmas Day is celebrated by Pakistan Christians as Big Day, or Great Day. The day is a public holiday, but it is in memory of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Pakistani Christians celebrates Christmas by singing carol and go from house to house and in return the family offers something to the choir. Mostly the money collected from such carols is used for charity works or is given to the church.
Their homes are decorated with local Christmas handicrafts while artificial stars signifying the Star of Bethlehem are hung on rooftops. Christmas celebrations are also popular with the urban middle class in the country with hotels, cafes, restaurants and theme parks hosting festivities and special events.
Philippines
Christmas in the Philippines, one of two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia (the other one being East Timor), is one of the biggest holidays on the calendar and is widely celebrated. The country has earned the distinction of celebrating the world's longest Christmas season, with Christmas carols heard as early as September. The season is traditionally ushered in by the nine-day dawn Masses that start on December 16. Known as the Misas de Aguinaldo (Gift Masses) or Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass) in the traditional Spanish. These Masses are more popularly known in Tagalog as the Simbang Gabi. Usually, aside from the already legal holidays which are Rizal Day (December 30) and New Year's Eve (December 31), other days in close proximity such as Christmas Eve (December 24), Niños Innocentes (December 28), and the Epiphany (traditionally, January 6) are also declared non-working days
As in many East Asian countries, secular Christmas displays are common both in business establishments and in public, including lights, Christmas trees, depictions of Santa Claus (despite the warm climate), and Christmas greetings in English and Tagalog, as well as in Chinese and other Philippine languages and dialects. Occasionally such displays are left in place even in summer for example the parol representing the "Star of Bethlehem" which led the Three Kings to the newborn Baby Jesus.
In the capital Manila, Christmas Day is the start of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival during which locally produced films are featured in the city's theatres.
For Filipinos, Christmas Eve ("Bisperas ng Pasko"/Spanish: Vísperas de la Navidad) on December 24 is celebrated with the Midnight Mass, and immediately after, the much-anticipated Noche Buena – the traditional Christmas Eve feast. Family members dine together around 12 midnight on traditional Nochebuena fare, which includes: queso de bola (Spanish: "ball of cheese"; this is actually edam cheese), "Tsokolate" (a hot chocolate drink) and jamón (Christmas ham). Some would also open presents at this time.
On December 31, New Year's Eve ("Bisperas ng Bagong Taon"), Filipino families gather for the Media Noche or midnight meal – a feast that is also supposed to symbolize their hopes for a prosperous New Year. In spite of the yearly ban on firecrackers, many Filipinos still see these as the traditional means to greet the New Year. The loud noises and sounds of merrymaking are also supposed to drive away bad spirits. Safer methods of merrymaking include banging on pots and pans and blowing on car horns. Folk beliefs also include encouraging children to jump at the stroke of midnight in the belief that they will grow up tall, displaying circular fruit and wearing clothes with dots and other circular designs to symbolize money, eating twelve grapes at 12 midnight for good luck in the twelve months of the year, and opening windows and doors during the first day of the New Year to let in good luck.
Christmas officially ends on the Feast of the Three Kings (Tres Reyes in Spanish or Tatlong Hari in Tagalog), also known as the Feast of the Epiphany. The Feast of the Three Kings was traditionally commemorated on January 6 but is now celebrated on the first Sunday after the New Year. Some children leave their shoes out, in the belief that the Three Kings will leave gifts like candy or money inside.
Singapore
In Singapore, Christmas is a public holiday that is widely celebrated.The Christmas season is also a popular period for shopping malls and business to conduct year-end sales, and will offer discounts and promotions that tie in with the festivities. The famous Singaporean shopping belt Orchard Road, as well as the Marina Bay area will feature lights and other decorations from early November till early January. The Christmas light-up and decorated shopping malls along Orchard Road often attract numerous visitors, locals and tourists alike. Other than the light-up, other activities such as carolling, concerts and parades can also be experienced in Orchard Road. In addition, companies in Singapore usually arrange gift exchange programs on the last working day before Christmas.
South Korea
South Korea recognizes Christmas as a national holiday. Christian and non-Christian Koreans engage in some holiday customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes; children, especially, appear to have embraced Santa Claus, whom they call Santa Halabuji (Grandfather Santa) in Korean, Local radio stations play holiday music on Christmas Day and a few days before, while television stations are known to air Christmas films and cartoon specials popular in the Western countries. In addition, increasing numbers of stores and buildings are displaying Christmas decorations.
As in the West, churches in Korea hold Christmas pageants and conduct special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Young people especially enjoy the fellowship these observances provide; after the Christmas Eve services, for example, they go caroling to the homes of older church members, where they are usually treated to hot drinks and snacks.
South Korea is the only East Asian country to recognize Christmas as a national holiday.
Taiwan
Christmas tree on the Taipei 101 building in Taipei.
In Taiwan, Christmas is not officially celebrated or legally recognized. However, coincidentally, 25 December is the date of the signing of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947, officially the Constitution Day (zh:行憲紀念日). Hence there was already an official holiday on that date designated in 1963 by the Executive Yuan,which is largely, though unofficially, treated as if it were Christmas. In order to avoid having too many legal holidays when phasing in the two-days-off-per-week plan, the Constitution Day is no longer a full legal holiday with a day off since 2001. Some people have become disappointed that December 25 has ceased to be a holiday, but there are still unofficial celebrations of Christmas.
Europe
Central Europe
In countries of Central Europe (for this purpose, roughly defined as the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and possibly other places) the main celebration date for the general public is Christmas Eve (December 24). The day is usually a fasting day; in some places children are told they'll see a golden pig if they hold fast until dinner. When the evening comes preparation of Christmas Dinner starts. Traditions concerning dinner vary from region to region, for example in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the prevailing meal is fried carp with potato salad and fish (or cabbage) soup. However, in some places the tradition is porridge with mushrooms (a modest dish), and elsewhere the dinner is exceptionally rich, with up to 12 dishes.
After the dinner comes the time for gifts. Tradition varies with region, commonly gifts are attributed to Christkind (Little Jesus) or their real originators (e.g. parents). Children usually find their gifts under the Christmas Tree, with name stickers. An interesting example of complicated history of the region is the "fight" between Christmas beings. During communism, when countries of Central Europe were under Soviet influence, communist authorities strongly pushed Russian traditional Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost") in the place of Christkind. Little Jesus won. Now Santa Claus is attacking, by means of advertising and Hollywood film production.
Many people, Christians as well as people with just a Christian background, go to Roman Catholic Other attributes of Christmas include Christmas trees, mistletoe, Christmas garlands, Bethlehem Cribs.
Armenia
Armenians celebrate Christmas ( surb tsnund, Սբ. Ծնունդ ) on January 6. It also coincides with the Epiphany. Traditionally, Armenians fast during the week leading up to Christmas. Devout Armenians may even refrain from food for the three days leading up to the Christmas Eve, in order to receive the Eucharist on a "pure" stomach. Christmas Eve is particularly rich in traditions. Families gather for the Christmas Eve dinner ( khetum, Խթում ), which generally consists of: rice, fish, nevik ( նուիկ, a vegetable dish of green chard and chick peas ), and yogurt/wheat soup ( tanabur, թանապուր ). Desert includes dried fruits and nuts, including rojik, which consists of whole shelled walnuts threaded on a string and encased in grape jelly, bastukh (a paper-like confection of grape jelly, cornstarch, and flour), etc. This lighter menu is designed to ease the stomach off the week-long fast and prepare it for the rather more substantial Christmas Day dinner.
In addition to the Christmas tree (tonatsar, Տօնածառ), Armenians (particularly in the Middle-East) also erect the Nativity scene. Christmas in the Armenian tradition is a purely religious affair. Santa Claus does not visit the nice Armenian children on Christmas, but rather on New Year's Eve. The idea of Santa Claus existed before the Soviet Union and he was named kaghand papik ( Կաղանդ Պապիկ ), but the Soviet Union had a great impact even on Santa Claus. Now he goes by the more secular name of Grandfather Winter ( dzmerr papik, Ձմեռ Պապիկ ). In the Armenian tradition, Santa Claus does not live at the North Pole. Instead, his workshop is located at the top of Mount Ararat.
Christmas Day in the Armenian tradition is family day. Families visit each other. Children take presents of fruits, nuts, and other candies to older relatives. Everyone gets together for a large meal.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the traditions are quite similar to those of Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, other Commonwealth countries and the USA, as those traditions stemmed from the UK. They are also similar to the other countries of Northern and Western Europe. The Christmas season starts at Advent, where holly wreaths are made with three purple, one pink and one white candle. However many shops sell Christmas decorations beforehand. It lasts until 6 January (Epiphany), as it is considered bad luck to have Christmas decorations up after this date.
On Christmas Eve, presents are supposedly delivered in stockings and under the Christmas tree by Father Christmas, who previously had been something like The Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but has now become mainly conflated with Santa Claus. The two names are now used interchangeably and equally known to British people, but Father Christmas tends to be used more often, and some distinctive features still remain. Many families tell their children stories about Father Christmas and his reindeer. One tradition is to put out a plate of carrots for the reindeer and mince pies and sherry for Father Christmas, to help him on his way.
On Christmas Day, nearly the whole population has the day off to be with their family and friends, so they can gather round for a traditional Christmas meal, which is usually a turkey, traditionally with cranberries, parsnips, roast potatoes, quite like the Sunday roast, and traditionally followed by a Christmas pudding. During the meal, Christmas crackers, containing toys, jokes and a paper hat are pulled.
Other traditions include carol singing, where many carols are sung by children on people's doorsteps and by professional choirs, and sending Christmas cards. In public, there are decorations and lights in most shops, especially in town centres, and even in Indian and Chinese restaurants. Churches and Cathedrals across the country hold masses, with many people going to midnight mass or a service on Christmas morning. Even though church attendance has been falling over the decades some people who do not go to church often think it is still important to go at Christmas, so Church attendance increases.
Most theatres have a tradition of putting on a Christmas pantomime for children. The pantomime stories are traditionally based on popular children's stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and Aladdin, rather than being directly concerned with Christmas as such, although there is sometimes a link.a usage first recorded in 900.
Christian feast
The New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Jesus.Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote that a group in Egypt celebrated the nativity on 25 Pashons.This corresponds to May 20.Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa.However, in Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox, popularizing the idea that Christ was born on December 25.The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.De Pascha Computus, a calendar of feasts produced in 243, gives March 28 as the date of the nativity.In 245, the theologian Origen of Alexandria stated that, "only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod)" celebrated their birthdays.In 303, Christian writer Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods. However, since Christmas does not celebrate Christ's birth "as God" but "as man", this is not evidence against Christmas being a feast at this time.Moreover, the fact that the innovation rejecting Donatist Church of North Africa celebrated Christmas suggests that the feast had been established before the living memory of those who began that Church in 311.
Feast established
The earliest known reference to the date of the nativity as December 25 is found in the Chronography of 354, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome.In the East, early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival emphasized celebration of the baptism of Jesus.Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.
Middle Ages
In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.
By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form."Misrule"—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated ivy, holly, and other evergreens.Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques and pageants. In 1607, King James I insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games.It was during the Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe, that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.
Reformation into the 19th centuryFollowing the Protestant Reformation, groups such as the Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery" or the "rags of the Beast."The Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old style Christmas generosity.Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647.Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", and carol singing.The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland also discouraged observance of Christmas. James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, however attendance at church was scant.In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The ban by the Pilgrims was revoked in 1681 by English governor Sir Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on Christmas during the Battle of Trenton in 1777, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.
By the 1820s, sectarian tension had eased in Britain and writers, including William Winstanly, began to worry that Christmas was dying out. These writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol, that helped revive the 'spirit' of Christmas and seasonal merriment.Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of which had dwindled during the late 18th century and early 19th century.Superimposing his secular vision of the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit.A prominent phrase from the tale, 'Merry Christmas', was popularized following the appearance of the story.The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser, with 'Bah! Humbug!' dismissive of the festive spirit.In 1843, the first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole.The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William B. Sandys Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), with the first appearance in print of 'The First Noel', 'I Saw Three Ships', 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen', popularized in Dickens' A Christmas Carol.In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover, by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen to King George III. In 1832 a young Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it.After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, created a sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850.By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas).The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.This also started the cultural conflict of the holiday's spiritualism and its commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.While the celebration of Christmas wasn't yet customary in some regions in the U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so".In Reading, Pennsylvania, a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas — threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth".The First Congregational Church of Rockford, Illinois, 'although of genuine Puritan stock', was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.In 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States Federal holiday, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.Subsequently, in 1875, Louis Prang introduced the Christmas card to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American Christmas card".
Controversy and criticism
Throughout the holiday's history, Christmas has been the subject of both controversy and criticism from a wide variety of different sources. The first documented Christmas controversy was Christian-led, and began during the English Interregnum, when England was ruled by a Puritan Parliament.Puritans (including those who fled to America) sought to remove the remaining pagan elements of Christmas. During this period, the English Parliament banned the celebration of Christmas entirely, considering it "a popish festival with no biblical justification", and a time of wasteful and immoral behavior.Controversy and criticism continues in the present-day, where some Christian and non-Christians have claimed that an affront to Christmas (dubbed a "war on Christmas" by some) is ongoing.In the United States there has been a tendency to replace the greeting Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays.Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have initiated court cases to bar the display of images and other material referring to Christmas from public property, including schools.Such groups argue that government-funded displays of Christmas imagery and traditions violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the establishment by Congress of a national religion.In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lynch vs. Donnelly that a Christmas display (which included a Nativity scene) owned and displayed by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island did not violate the First Amendment.In November 2009, the Federal appeals court in Philadelphia endorsed a school district's ban on the singing of Christmas carols.In the private sphere also, it has been alleged that any specific mention of the term "Christmas" or its religious aspects was being increasingly censored, avoided, or discouraged by a number of advertisers and retailers. In response, the American Family Association and other groups have organized boycotts of individual retailers.In the United Kingdom there have also been some controversies, one of the most famous being the temporary promotion of the Christmas period as Winterval by Birmingham City Council in 1998. There were also protests in November 2009 when the city of Dundee promoted its celebrations as the Winter Night Light festival, initially with no specific Christmas references.
Economics
Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations around the world. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" starts as early as October.In Canada, merchants begin advertising campaigns just before Halloween (October 31), and step up their marketing following Remembrance Day on November 11. In the United States, it has been calculated that a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the Christmas/holiday shopping season.Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that expenditure in department stores nationwide rose from $20.8 billion in November 2004 to $31.9 billion in December 2004, an increase of 54 percent. In other sectors, the pre-Christmas increase in spending was even greater, there being a November – December buying surge of 100 percent in bookstores and 170 percent in jewelry stores. In the same year employment in American retail stores rose from 1.6 million to 1.8 million in the two months leading up to Christmas.Industries completely dependent on Christmas include Christmas cards, of which 1.9 billion are sent in the United States each year, and live Christmas Trees, of which 20.8 million were cut in the USA in 2002.In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day of the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies during the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.
One economist's analysis calculates that, despite increased overall spending, Christmas is a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, because of the effect of gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001, Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.
References and notes
1. ^ a b Christmas as a Multi-faith Festival—BBC News. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
2. ^ Christmas: January 7 or December 25? — Coptic Orthodox Church Network. John Ramzy. Retrieved on December 31, 2009.
3. ^ Canadian Heritage – Public holidays — Government of Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
4. ^ 2009 Federal Holidays — U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
5. ^ Bank holidays and British Summer time — HM Government. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
6. ^ Those traditions using the Julian calendar celebrate on December 25 according to that calendar, which is now January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. Armenian Churches observed the nativity on January 6 even before the Gregorian calendar originated. Most Armenian Christians use the Gregorian calendar, still celebrating Christmas Day on January 6. Some Armenian churches use the Julian calendar, thus celebrating Christmas Day on January 19 on the Gregorian calendar, with January 18 being Christmas Eve.
7. ^ Christmas, Merriam-Webster. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
Archived 2009-10-31.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Christmas", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
9. ^ a b How December 25 Became Christmas, Biblical Archaeology Review, Retrieved 2009-12-13
10. ^ a b Newton, Isaac, Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (1733). Ch. XI.
A sun connection is possible because Christians consider Jesus to be the "sun of righteousness" prophesied in Malachi 4:2.
11. ^ a b "Christmas", Encarta
Roll, Susan K., Toward the Origins of Christmas, (Peeters Publishers, 1995), p.130.
Tighe, William J., "Calculating Christmas". Archived 2009-10-31.
12. ^ "The Christmas Season". CRI / Voice, Institute. http://www.cresourcei.org/cyxmas.html. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
13. ^ Why I celebrate Christmas, by the world's most famous atheist – DailyMail. December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
14. ^ Non-Christians focus on secular side of Christmas — Sioux City Journal. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
15. ^ "Poll: In a changing nation, Santa endures", Associated Press, December 22, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
16. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
17. ^ For example, Pope Benedict XIV argued in 1761 that the church fathers would have known the correct date of birth from Roman census records. (Roll, Susan K., Toward the Origins of Christmas, (Peeters Publishers, 1995), p. 129.)
18. ^ "Bruma", Seasonal Festivals of the Greeks and Romans
Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 18:59
19. ^ "Choosing the Date of Christmas: Why is Christmas Celebrated on December 25?". Ancient and Future Catholics. http://www.ancient-future.net/christmasdate.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
20. ^ Roll, pp. 88–90.
Duchesne, Louis, Les Origines du Culte Chrétien, Paris, 1902, 262 ff.
21. ^ a b c S.E. Hijmans, Sol, the sun in the art and religions of Rome, 2009, pp. 587–588.
22. ^ a b The Liturgical Year. Thomas Nelson. http://books.google.com/books?id=inhMGc5732kC&pg=PT40&dq=date+of+christmas+important&hl=en&ei=7T3GTOWcKMGp8Abk__XkDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=date%20of%20christmas%20important&f=false. Retrieved 2009-04-02. "Christmas is not really about the celebration of a birth date at all. It is about the celebration of a birth. The fact of the date and the fact of the birth are two different things. The calendrical verification of the feast itself is not really that important...What is important to the understanding of a life-changing moment is that it happened, not necessarily where of when it happened. The message is clear: Christmas is not about marking the actual birth date of Jesus. It is about the Incarnation of the One who became like us in all things but sin (Heb. 4:15) and who humbled Himself "to the point of death-even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8). Christmas is a pinnacle feast, yes, but it is not the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a memorial, a remembrance, of the birth of Jesus, not really a celebration of the day itself. We remember that because the Jesus of history was born, the Resurrection of the Christ of faith could happen."
23. ^ a b "The Christmas Season". CRI / Voice, Institute. http://www.crivoice.org/cyxmas.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
24. ^ a b The School Journal, Volume 49. Harvard University. http://books.google.com/books?id=x_kBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA469&dq=date+of+christmas+unimportant&hl=en&ei=2gTwTPL2EoOnnAfa-pynCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=date%20of%20christmas%20unimportant&f=false. Retrieved 2009-04-02. "Throughout the Christian world the 25th of December is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ. There was a time when the churches were not united regarding the date of the joyous event. Many Christians kept their Christmas in April, others in May, and still others at the close of September, till finally December 25 was agreed upon as the most appropriate date. The choice of that day was, of course, wholly abritrary, for neither the exact date not the period of the year at which the birth of Christ occurred is known. For purposes of commemoration, however, it is unimportant whether the celebration shall fall or not a the precise anniversary of the joyous event."
25. ^ "Christmas in Bethlehem". http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/bethlehem-christmas.
26. ^ Geza Vermes, The Nativity: History and Legend, London, Penguin, 2006, p22.; E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus, 1993, p.85.
27. ^ Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing The Hidden Contradictions In The Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them), Harper Collins, 2009, Bart D. Ehrman, P. 19-60
28. ^ Larry W. Hurtado. "Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity". Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=k32wZRMxltUC&pg=PA327&dq=nativity+accounts&hl=en&ei=1Kf1TNruBMOC8gawiPGwBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=nativity%20accounts&f=false. Retrieved 2010-12-02. "Yet, as in a number of other matters, in this emphasis Matthew essentially has extended and elaborated an affirmation that is already made in Mark, which opens (1:2-3) with a citation of "Isaiah the prophet" to introduce and frame the ensuing story of Jesus. The Lukan nativity account shows a similar concern and emphasis, even the the author uses different techniques in presenting them."
29. ^ JPH. "The Nativity Stories Harmonized". TEKTON. http://www.tektonics.org/af/birthnarr.html. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
30. ^ Richard Bruce. "Reconciling the Nativity Stories of Matthew and Luke". http://richleebruce.com/miracle/nativity.html. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
31. ^ Luke 2:1–6
32. ^ Matthew 2:2.
33. ^ Matthew 2:1–11
34. ^ Miles, Clement A, Christmas customs and traditions, Courier Dover Publications, 1976, ISBN 0-486-23354-5, p. 272.
35. ^ Heller, Ruth, Christmas: Its Carols, Customs & Legends, Alfred Publishing (1985), ISBN 0-7692-4399-1, p. 12.
36. ^ a b Ace Collins. "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas". Zondervan. http://books.google.com/books?id=mo8vgZoROl8C&pg=PT71&dq=christmas+colors&hl=en&ei=X7b6TIikHsOBlAf596TsDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=christmas%20colors&f=false. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
37. ^ Collins, Ace, Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Zondervan, (2003), ISBN 0-310-24880-9 p.47.
38. ^ Collins p. 83.
39. ^ a b Hal Siemer, Christmas Magic: The History and Traditions of the Holiday, QuestMagazine.com, 2004-12-02.
40. ^ a b van Renterghem, Tony. When Santa was a shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995. ISBN 1-56718-765-X
41. ^ a b Harper, Douglas, Christ, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001.
42. ^ "The Chronological History of the Christmas Tree". The Christmas Archives. http://www.christmasarchives.com/trees.html. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
43. ^ "Christmas Tradition – The Christmas Tree Custom". Fashion Era. http://www.fashion-era.com/Christmas/christmas_customs_tree_history.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
44. ^ a b Lejeune, Marie Claire. Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe, p.550. University of Michigan ISBN 90-77135-04-9
45. ^ a b c Shoemaker, Alfred Lewis. (1959) Christmas in Pennsylvania: a folk-cultural study. Edition 40. pp. 52, 53. Stackpole Books 1999. ISBN 0-8117-0328-2.
46. ^ Murray, Brian. "Christmas lights and community building in America," History Matters, Spring 2006.
47. ^ Miles, Clement, Christmas customs and traditions, Courier Dover Publications, 1976, ISBN 0-486-23354-5, p.32
48. ^ Miles, pp. 31–37
49. ^ Miles, pp. 47–48
50. ^ Dudley-Smith, Timothy (1987). A Flame of Love. London: Triangle/SPCK. ISBN 0-281-04300-0.
51. ^ Richard Michael Kelly. A Christmas carol p.10. Broadview Press, 2003 ISBN 1-55111-476-3
52. ^ Imbuljuta
53. ^ a b The Origin of American Christmas Myths and Customs – Ball State University. Swartz Jr., BK. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
54. ^ a b Forbes, Bruce David, Christmas: a candid history, University of California Press, 2007, ISBN 0-520-25104-0, pp. 68–79.
55. ^ Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Santa Claus
56. ^ John Steele Gordon, The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power: 1653–2000 (Scribner) 1999.
57. ^ Forbes, Bruce David, Christmas: a candid history, pp. 80–81.
58. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara and David P., "The Claus That Refreshes", Snopes.com, 2006.
59. ^ "History of the Society". The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. http://www.saintnicholassociety.org/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
60. ^ Jones, Charles W.. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus". The New-York Historical Society Quarterly XXXVIII (4)
61. ^ Charles W. Jones, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1978).
62. ^ Hageman, Howard G. (1979). "Review of Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend". Theology Today (Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary) 36 (3). http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1979/v36-3-bookreview15.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-05
63. ^ Matera, Mariane. "Santa: The First Great Lie", Citybeat, Issue 304
64. ^ Kelly, Joseph F., The Origins of Christmas, Liturgical Press, 2004, p. 67-69.
65. ^ ""Christmas – An Ancient Holiday", The History Channel, 2007.
66. ^ Coffman, Elesha. Why December 25? Christian History & Biography, Christianity Today, 2000.
67. ^ Yule. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
68. ^ "Christmas, Encyclopædia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.
69. ^ Roll, p. 78, citing calculations by Roger Beckworth. Roll, pp. 79–80, then cites Roland Bainton to say that Clement may have used two separate calendars and the discrepancies between them eventually "yields 6 January, in 2 CE".
70. ^ "Christmas, Encyclopædia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.
71. ^ Roll, p. 79, 80. Only fragments of Chronographai survive. In one fragment, Africanus referred to "Pege in Bethlehem" and "Lady Pege, Spring-bearer." See "Narrative Narrative of Events Happening in Persia on the Birth of Christ Narrative".
72. ^ Bradt, Hale, Astronomy Methods, (2004), p. 69.
Roll p. 87.
73. ^ Roll p.81f
74. ^ Origen, "Levit., Hom. VIII"; Migne P.G., XII, 495.
"Natal Day", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911.
75. ^ This document was prepared privately for a Roman aristocrat. The reference in question states, "VIII kal. ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ".[1] It is in a section copied from an earlier manuscript produced in 336.[2] This document also contains the earliest known reference to the feast of Sol Invictus.[3]
76. ^ Pokhilko, Hieromonk Nicholas, "History of Epiphany"
77. ^ a b c d e f Murray, Alexander, "Medieval Christmas", History Today, December 1986, 36 (12), pp. 31 – 39.
78. ^ a b McGreevy, Patrick. "Place in the American Christmas," (JSTOR), Geographical Review, Vol. 80, No. 1. January 1990, pp. 32–42. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
79. ^ a b c Restad, Penne L. (1995). Christmas in America: a History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-510980-5
80. ^ a b c Durston, Chris, "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642–60", History Today, December 1985, 35 (12) pp. 7 – 14.
81. ^ "A Christmassy post | Mercurius Politicus". Mercuriuspoliticus.wordpress.com. 2008-12-21. http://mercuriuspoliticus.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/a-christmassy-post/. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
82. ^ Chambers, Robert (1885). Domestic Annals of Scotland. p. 211.
83. ^ When Christmas Was Banned – The early colonies and Christmas
84. ^ Nancy Smith Thomas. Moravian Christmas in the South. p. 20. 2007 ISBN 0-8078-3181-6
85. ^ Andrews, Peter (1975). Christmas in Colonial and Early America. USA: World Book Encyclopedia, Inc.. ISBN 7-166-2001-4.
86. ^ Les Standiford. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits, Crown, 2008. ISBN 978-0-307-40578-4
87. ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (December 22, 2008). "Dickens' classic 'Christmas Carol' still sings to us". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-12-17-dickens-main_N.htm. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
88. ^ Rowell, Geoffrey, Dickens and the Construction of Christmas, History Today, Volume: 43 Issue: 12, December 1993, pp. 17 – 24
89. ^ Ronald Hutton Stations of the Sun: The Ritual Year in England. 1996. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285448-8.
90. ^ Richard Michael Kelly (ed.) (2003), A Christmas Carol. pp.9,12 Broadview Literary Texts, New York: Broadview Press ISBN 1-55111-476-3
91. ^ Robertson Cochrane. Wordplay: origins, meanings, and usage of the English language. p.126 University of Toronto Press, 1996 ISBN 0-8020-7752-8
92. ^ Joe L. Wheeler. Christmas in my heart, Volume 10. p.97. Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2001. ISBN 0-8280-1622-4
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94. ^ The girlhood of Queen Victoria: a selection from Her Majesty's diaries. p.61. Longmans, Green & co., 1912. University of Wisconsin
95. ^ Godey's Lady's Book, 1850. Godey's copied it exactly, except removed the Queen's crown, and Prince Albert's mustache, to remake the engraving into an American scene.
96. ^ Kelly, Richard Michael (ed.) (2003), A Christmas Carol. p.20. Broadview Literary Texts, New York: Broadview Press, ISBN 1-55111-476-3
97. ^ Moore's poem transferred the genuine old Dutch traditions celebrated at New Year in New York, including the exchange of gifts, family feasting, and tales of “sinterklass” (a derivation in Dutch from “Saint Nicholas,” from whence comes the modern “Santa Claus”) to Christmas.The history of Christmas: Christmas history in America, 2006
98. ^ usinfo.state.gov “Americans Celebrate Christmas in Diverse Ways” November 26, 2006
99. ^ First Presbyterian Church of Watertown “Oh . . . and one more thing” December 11, 2005
100. ^ a b c Restad, Penne L. (1995), Christmas in America: a History. p.96. Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-510980-5
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105. ^ Christmas controversy article – Muslim Canadian Congress.
106. ^ "Jews for Christmas"—NewsMax article
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109. ^ Ostling, Richard. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Lawsuit This Season." Buffalo Law Journal 12/1/2005, Vol. 77 Issue 96, p. 1-4.
110. ^ Lynch vs. Donnelly (1984)
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112. ^ Boycott Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic this Christmas
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117. ^ US Census Bureau. "Facts. The Holiday Season" December 19, 2005. (accessed Nov 30 2009)
118. ^ US Census 2005
119. ^ "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas", American Economic Review, December 1993, 83 (5)
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Further reading
* Restad, Penne L. (1995). Christmas in America: A History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509300-3.
* The Battle for Christmas, by Stephen Nissenbaum (1996; New York: Vintage Books, 1997). ISBN 0-679-74038-4
* The Origins of Christmas, by Joseph F. Kelly (August 2004: Liturgical Press) ISBN 978-0-8146-2984-0
* Christmas Customs and Traditions, by Clement A. Miles (1976: Dover Publications) ISBN 978-0-486-23354-3
* The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, by Gerry Bowler (October 2004: McClelland & Stewart) ISBN 978-0-7710-1535-9
* Santa Claus: A Biography, by Gerry Bowler (November 2007: McClelland & Stewart) ISBN 978-0-7710-1668-4
* There Really Is a Santa Claus: The History of St. Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions, by William J. Federer (December 2002: Amerisearch) ISBN 978-0-9653557-4-2
* St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas, by Jim Rosenthal (July 2006: Nelson Reference) ISBN 1-4185-0407-6
* Just say Noel: A History of Christmas from the Nativity to the Nineties, by David Comfort (November 1995: Fireside) ISBN 978-0-684-80057-8
* 4000 Years of Christmas: A Gift from the Ages, by Earl W. Count (November 1997: Ulysses Press) ISBN 978-1-56975-087-2
* Sammons, Peter (May 2006). The Birth of Christ. Glory to Glory Publications (UK). ISBN 0-9551790-1-7.
