There is no doubt that Christmas is among the greatest religious holidays in the Western world. Actually the majority of people consider it to be the most highly anticipated and marketed one. As you probably know, the name of the holiday means 'Christ's Mass' and it is surely the most important holiday in Christian's calendar as it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
All the people around the world celebrate Christmas in different ways. Presumably, the most popular traditions are those coming from American and British cultures. They involve gift giving and the figure of Santa Claus which is partly based on historical records of Saint Nicholas, a generous man with round belly and red cheeks.
The holiday of Christmas has a huge economic impact on the countries celebrating it as the Christmas tradition involves gift giving between family members, friends and loved ones. Those countries with a significant Christian population celebrate the holiday in masse, while many other countries pay more attention to the tradition of gift giving and neglect the religious side of the event.
Even though the exact date of the birth of Christ is not known for certain, Christmas is annually celebrated on the 25th of December. It is supposed that during the time of the Roman Empire of the 4th century AD Christmas became an important Christian holiday and in the second half of the century Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire, just before it split into Western and Eastern empires.
It is widely accepted that Christmas was chosen to be celebrated on the 25th of December because this was a way to unite the old Pagan traditions with the new Christian ones. Romans are known to have commemorated the god Saturn with a special holiday which they called Saturnalia. This seven-day holiday began on the 17th of December and ended with the winter solstice which was then celebrated on the 25th of December. This holiday initiated the traditional gift giving on Christmas today.
Another god that the Romans worshipped before they adopted the religion of Christianity was called 'Sol Invictus' or the 'invincible sun god' a deity with Persian origin who was believed to be born on the winter solstice. Having such old beliefs and traditions Romans found it easy to convert to Christianity.
Christmas as we know it today has evolved during the twentieth century. A lot of our modern traditions have strong roots in commercial marketing, from the red-suited Santa Claus (popularized by an illustrator named Haddon Sundblom in a series of Coca Cola ads in the 1930s) to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (who first appeared in a Montgomery Ward promotional book by a staff copy writer named Robert May).
Christmas facts:
• Santa Claus and Father Christmas are, or were, two different people. St Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors, ships, archers, children, students, became in Dutch folklore a bringer of gifts at Christmas, known as “Sinterklaas”. He originally was shown as a large, bearded man in a green cloak,. Father Christmas was a depiction of the Christmas spirit of cheer, but was not associated with gift-bringing. The two myths were merged, and they became synonymous.
• Some Christians celebrate Jesus Christ's coming on January 6, the Epiphany, when they believe he was baptized.
• The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes maesse, which means Christ's mass.
• The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name.
• In 1969, the Roman Catholic church dropped St. Nicholas' Feast Day from its calendar because his life is so unreliably documented.
• Santa Claus generally was depicted as an elf until 1931, when Coca-Cola ads portrayed him as human-sized.
• Rudolph didn't become Santa's ninth reindeer until 1939 when an advertising writer for the department store Montgomery Ward created him.
• "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950.
• The symbolic meaning of Christmas tree originates in pagan culture where the evergreen represents life, rebirth, and stamina needed to endure the winter months. The first use of Christmas trees as they're known today dates back to the 1500's. Some claim the tree originated in Germany in the mid 1500's, others claim it was Latvia in the early 1500's, and a few even believe in a legend that St. Boniface created the Christmas tree in the 7th century.
Save rudolph the reindeer
MERRY XMAS!!!!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://EzineArticles.com/307563, A Brief History of Christmas, By Morgan Hamilton
Encarta 96 Encyclopedia, World Book, Encyclopedia Brittanica
