Christmas
Christmas is a happy, festive time filled with great spiritual
significance. Next to Easter, Christmas is the most important holiday of the
year for Christians. Customs differ around the world for observing
Christmas, but they all center on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas, annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus
Christ. Most members of the Roman Catholic Church and followers of Protestantism celebrate Christmas on December 25, and many celebrate on the evening of December 24 as
well. Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church usually delay their most
important seasonal ceremonies until January 6, when they celebrate Epiphany,
a commemoration of the baptism of Jesus. Epiphany also traditionally
commemorates the
arrival of the Three Wise Men of the East in Bethlehem
(near Jerusalem, Israel), where they adored the infant Jesus and presented
him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The official Christmas
season, popularly known as either Christmastide or the Twelve
Days of Christmas, extends from the anniversary of Christ�s birth on
December 25 to the feast of Epiphany on January 6.
The most important holiday on the Christian calendar is Easter, which commemorates the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Nevertheless, many people, particularly in the United States and Canada, consider Christmas to be the most significant annual Christian event. In addition to being a religious holiday, Christmas is a widely observed secular festival. For most people who celebrate Christmas, the holiday season is characterized by gatherings among family and friends, feasting, and gift giving.
Christmas is based on the
story of Jesus� birth as described in the Gospel according to Matthew (see
Matthew 1:18-2:12) and the Gospel according to Luke (see Luke
1:26-56). Roman Catholics
first celebrated Christmas, then known as the Feast of the Nativity, as
early as 336 ad. The word
Christmas entered the English language sometime around 1050 as the Old
English phrase Christes maesse, meaning �festival of Christ.�
Scholars believe the frequently used shortened form of Christmas�Xmas�may
have come into use in the 13th century. The X stands for the Greek
letter chi, an abbreviation of Khristos (Christ), and also
represents the cross on which Jesus was crucified.