Christmas

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The Christian celebration of thebirth of JESUS on December 25. The English namederives from the phrase "Christ's Mass." Christmasis probably the most popular Christiancelebration.The earliest celebration of Christmas that weknow about took place in Rome in the middle ofthe fourth century. This is the period during whichCHRISTIANITY was in the process of becoming theoffi cial religion of the Roman Empire.A century earlier the Roman emperor Aurelian(ruled 270–275) had made the WORSHIP of Sol Invictus,"The unconquered sun," the offi cial religion ofthe empire. In 274 he had required all subjects ofRome to celebrate the birth of the sun on December25. This is the date when days in the NorthernHemisphere begin to grow longer again. Manyspeculate that Aurelian's celebration of the birth ofthe sun was the origin of the celebration of Christmason December 25.During the fourth century the celebrationof Jesus' birth on December 25 spread. Manychurches in the eastern half of the Roman Empire—the ancestors of today's Orthodox churches (seeEASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY)—were alreadycelebrating Jesus' birth and BAPTISM on January6. They continued to celebrate Jesus' baptismon that day. On December 25 they rememberedhis birth and the visits of the shepherds and themagi. Churches in the western half of the RomanEmpire—the ancestors of today's Catholic andProtestant churches (see ROMAN CATHOLICISM andPROTESTANISM)—thought of the day somewhat differently.On December 25 they celebrated Jesus'birth and the visit of the shepherds. On January6, called Epiphany, they celebrated the visit ofthe magi.A rich variety of popular customs has developedaround the celebration of Christmas. In NorthAmerica Christmas observances include sculptedscenes of Jesus' birth known as creches, specialsongs known as Christmas carols, an evergreentree decorated with ornaments and lights, legendsabout a popular fi gure named Santa Claus whogives gifts (especially to children), the sending ofgreeting cards, and midnight worship services.Each of these elements has a different origin.Francis of Assisi (see FRANCIS OF ASSISI AND FRANCISCANS) began the tradition of buildingcreches to celebrate Christmas in the late MiddleAges. Christmas carols began in the late MiddleAges, too. At that time it became customary onChristmas to replace the kinds of hymns used forordinary festivals with songs of a more popularnature. The Christmas tree originated in Germany,although precisely when is unknown. In the 19thcentury, Queen Victoria's husband, who wasGerman, brought the custom to English-speakingcountries. Americans invented the legends ofSanta Claus from a variety of sources, while thecustom of sending greeting cards began in Englandin the 19th century. The oldest of the elementsis the one from which Christmas takes itsname: the celebration of an early morning mass,eventually at midnight.Despite the popularity of the festival, not allChristians observe Christmas. When the festivalwas fi rst introduced, the church in JERUSALEMrefused to recognize it for 200 years. The ARMENIANCHURCH still insists on celebrating the birthof Jesus on January 6. Some Protestants havealso rejected Christmas. To them, it is a humaninvention that has no basis in the BIBLE. One suchgroup was the Puritans (see PURITANISM). Becauseof Puritan infl uence, Christmas was not widelyobserved in the United States until the mid-1800s.The "plain people," such as the AMISH, still refuseto observe it.