Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of JesusChrist, celebrated generally on 25th December as a religiousand cultural holiday by billions of people around the world. A feast central tothe Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent period and initiate thetwelve days of Christmastide. Christmas is a civil holiday in lots of theworld's nations, is celebrated by an growing number of non-Christians, and isan integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.
The precise day of Jesus' birth, which historians placebetween 7 and 2 BC, is unidentified. In the early-to-mid 4th century, theWestern Christian Church first positioned Christmas on December 25, a datelater adopted also in the East. Theories advanced to explain that choiceinclude that it falls accurately nine months after the Christian festivity ofthe conception of Jesus, or that it was chosen to coincide with either the dateof the Roman winter solstice or of some ancient pagan winter festival.
The original date of the festivity in Eastern Christianitywas January 6, in connection with Epiphany, and that is still the date of the festivityfor the Armenian Apostolic Church and in Armenia, where it is a public holiday.As of 2011, there is a variation of 13 days between the modern Gregoriancalendar and the older Julian calendar. Those who continue to use the Juliancalendar or its equivalent thus celebrate December 25 and January 6 on what forthe majority of the world is January 7 and January 19. For this cause,Ethiopia, Russia and Ukraine celebrate Christmas, both as a Christian feast andas a holiday, on what in the Gregorian calendar is January 7.
Date | December 25 |
Significance | Traditional birthday of Jesus |
Observances | Church services, gift giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decorating |
Related to | Christmastide, Christmas Eve, Advent, Annunciation, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Yule |
Type | Christian, cultural |
Also called | Noel Yule Feast of the Nativity |
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