Christmas

Also known as Christ’s Mass

Observed by Christians all over the world also as by non-Christians who observe the secular elements from the holiday.

Kind Christian, international

Significance conventional birthdate of Jesus

Observances religious solutions, present providing, family members meetings, decorating trees

Associated to Annunciation, Incarnation; Crucifixion; Advent, the 4 weeks preceding Christmas; and also the period in between the day following Thanksgiving and also the Sunday following New Year’s Day, the American holiday season

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. Elements of celebration might consist of gift-giving, Christmas trees, show of Nativity sets, church attendance, the Father Christmas/Santa Claus myth, and family members gatherings. Customers from the Gregorian calendar observe the holiday on December 25. Some Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate on December 25 by the Julian calendar, which presently corresponds to January 7 around the Gregorian calendar. These dates are merely conventional; the fantastic majority of scholars agree that the actual birthdate of Jesus is unknown.

The word Christmas is derived from Middle English Christemasse and from Old English Cristes mæsse. It’s a contraction which means “Christ’s mass”. The name from the holiday is frequently shortened to Xmas simply because Roman letter “X” resembles the Greek letter ? (chi), an abbreviation for Christ (Χριστός).

In Western nations, Christmas will be the most economically substantial holiday from the year, and is even celebrated by non-Christians. The recognition of Christmas may be traced in component to its status as a winter festival. Numerous cultures have their most significant holiday in winter simply because there’s much less agricultural function to complete at this time. Examples of winter festivals which are believed by some to possess influenced Christmas consist of the pre-Christian festivals of Yule and Saturnalia, and numerous from the traditions related to the holiday have origins in these pagan winter celebrations.

In Western culture, the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts amongst buddies and family members members, a few of the gifts becoming attributed to Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Basil and Father Frost). Nevertheless, numerous nearby and regional Christmas traditions are nonetheless practiced, regardless of the widespread influence of American, British and Australian Christmas motifs disseminated by film, well-liked literature, tv, as well as other media.

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