When Did Christmas Begin To Be Celebrated
Whatever the reasons may be today christmas is the most celebrated festival around the world with around 2 2 billion christians adherent.
When did christmas begin to be celebrated. The jews had a festival of lights. Christians added one of the most pleasant touches of all to christmas celebration when they began to sing christmas carols. Clement picked november 18. Cultures around the mediterranean and across europe observed feasts on or around december 25th marking the winter solstice.
The worst part is even some christians claim that the celebration of christmas began centuries later as a pagan practice. A feast central to the christian liturgical year it is preceded by the season of advent or the nativity fast and initiates the season of christmastide which historically in the. The first celebration of christmas began much earlier than that. In the fifth.
However christmas was and still is celebrated by most christians. The celebration of christmas did eventually wend its way into the fabric of american culture. Some of the most depraved customs of the saturnalia carnival were intentionally revived by the catholic church in 1466 when pope paul ii for the amusement of his roman citizens forced jews to race naked through the streets of the city. Roman catholic churches celebrate the first christmas mass at midnight.
How did christmas come to be celebrated on december 25th. The encyclopedia americana 1956 edition adds christmas was not observed in the first centuries of the christian church since the christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth a feast was established in memory of this event christ s birth in the fourth century. The first christmas celebration did not begin in the mid fourth century under constantine. Christmas began to be widely celebrated with a specific liturgy in the 9th century but did not attain the liturgical importance of either good friday or easter the other two major christian holidays.
When the war of independence began the influences and traditions of england were shrugged off and the christmas celebrations fell out of fashion. Here are some interesting articles to read. Nor did it begin in ad 221. In the greek and russian orthodox system christmas is celebrated 13 days after 25th december as they believe that it was after 13 days 3 wise men found jesus in the manger.
However it was seen as an english holiday.