Origins Of Christmas Celebration
Christmas or feast of the nativity is an annual festival commemorating the birth of jesus christ observed primarily on december 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
Origins of christmas celebration. The origins of christmas go back to before the time of christ when many ancient cultures celebrated the changing of the seasons. Traditions associated with the christmas holiday are diverse in their origins and nature with some traditions. The earlier term yule may have derived from the germanic jōl or the anglo saxon geōl which referred to the feast of the winter solstice the corresponding terms in other languages navidad in spanish natale in italian noël in french all. Gift giving is a near universal part of christmas celebrations.
Just like today this kissing usually occurred at the beginning of any modern saturnalia christmas celebration. During this time extreme celebration occurred and for the most part. The unexpected origins of popular christmas traditions. Christmas christian festival celebrating the birth of jesus the english term christmas mass on christ s day is of fairly recent origin.
Christmas is incomplete to many unless it involves kissing under the mistletoe this pagan custom was natural on a night that involved much revelry done in the spirit of drunken orgies. Christmas is really about bringing out your inner. Albeit it is celebrated world wide it has largely lost its christian character and is now often focused on goodwill and celebration with friends and family. For the first three hundred years of the church s existence birthdays were not given much emphasis not even the birth of christ.
In the northern hemisphere in europe for example the winter solstice which was the shortest day of the year occurs around dec. Christmas traditions include a variety of customs religious practices rituals and folklore associated with the celebration of christmas many of these traditions vary by country or region while others are universal and practiced in a virtually ubiquitous manner across the world. The day on which a saint died was considered more significant than his or her birth as it ushered him or her into the kingdom of heaven. This day december 25 336 is the first recorded celebration of christmas.
Augustus neander in the history of the christian religion and church during the three first centuries agrees. The puritans banned christmas for 20 years in america before the celebration.