The Reasons Why We Celebrate Christmas
Christians believe is the son of God. His birth date is
unknown because there is little information about his early life. There is
disagreement among scholars on when Jesus was born. Christians celebrate Jesus’
birthday on December 25. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on or
near January 7.
The
precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear.
The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first
identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 and later became the universally accepted date.
One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December
25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular
holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the
resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the
rebirth of spring and summer.
Indeed, after December 25 had become widely
accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently made the
connection between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son. One
of the difficulties with this view is that it suggests a nonchalant willingness
on the part of the Christian church to appropriate a pagan festival when the
early church was so intent on distinguishing itself categorically from pagan
beliefs and practices.
The word “Christmas” comes from the old English
“Cristes maesse”, or the mass of Christ. It is likely that the Christmas date
of December 25 was chosen to offset the Pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and
Natalis Invicti. It it also possible that the celebration of the birth of the
“true light of the world” was set at the time of the December
solstice because this is when the days in the northern hemisphere begin to
grow longer. Christmas holiday customs derive from various cultures,
including Teutonic, Celtic, Roman, West Asian and Christian.
Tags: #christmas #historyofchristmas #25thDecember #ChristmasDay "Christmas"
Tags: #christmas #historyofchristmas #25thDecember #ChristmasDay "Christmas"
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