Christmas

Birth of Jesus Celebrated With Grandeur

Christmas Day or Christmas Eve is celebrated all over the world on 25th of December. According to biblical accounts Jesus Christ was born on this day to Virgin Mary and Father Joseph in the city of Bethlehem. Baby Jesus was laid in a manger as his birth took place in a stable surrounded by farm animals. The shepherds of Bethlehem were told about the birth before by an angel. Christmas is a very special day for the Christian community. Today, Christmas Day is declared as an annual holiday. The birth of Jesus is celebrated traditionally by the display of Nativity Scenes and Christmas trees, exchanging gifts and cards where a character by the name Santa Claus, appears dashing through the white snow on a one horse open sledge.

The Christmas theme is basically spending quality time with near and dear ones and the promotion of goodwill, well being and companionship. The 7th of January is also celebrated as Christmas by some eastern orthodox churches, which actually corresponds to December 25th on the Julian calendar. It is believed that 25th of December celebrated as the birth date of Jesus Christ is merely traditional and is not his actual date of birth.

It is said that the origin of the word Christmas is controversial. There are people who believe that the word Christmas is derived from an Egyptian word Khristos-Mas which means Christ's Birth at the same time others believe that the term is derived from an Anglo Saxon word. Christmas is sometimes shortened as Xmas. This is used as abbreviation for Christ.

Christmas is celebrated in every part of the world

because of the spread of Christianity and the western influence along with the popularity of the winter celebrations. As there was less agricultural work to be done in the winters so the winter festival was the most popular festival among many cultures. In the church calendar perhaps Easter was the most important feast celebrated by the Christians. Christmas was less significant; in fact the early church opposed the celebration of birth days of church members. The birthday of Jesus at first was not at all celebrated. It was not at all mentioned as a feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. It was said that only sinners celebrated their birthdays and not saints.

The earliest reference of Christmas was found in a manuscript which was compiled in Rome. Meanwhile it is said that in the east Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as a part of the Epiphany. Christmas was celebrated by the Christians as the day of baptism of Christ. Christmas was actually promoted in the east as the revival of Catholicism. Christmas being more popular in the modern times is a mere influence of the celebration of traditional winter festivals.

The celebrations and traditions of Christmas vary from region to region and from country to country. Christmas is celebrated during the summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This clashes with the traditional images of fur coated Santa Claus dashing through the snow. The New Zealanders celebrate Christmas at the beach during summer. In South Korea Christmas is celebrated as an official holiday and in India Christmas is celebrated as ?badadin?. The main celebration of Christmas revolves around shopping, gifts and Santa Claus. In Poland Santa Claus gives gifts on the night of December 5th and on Christmas Eve. German children keep their shoes out at their doors on Christmas Eve and find them filled with chocolates and candies. In Hungary it is believed that Santa Claus or Father Winter travels a long way from Greenland and brings gifts with him and he visits every town. He is often accompanied with a black creature called Krampusz on Christmas Eve. It is a also believed that baby Jesus delivers the presents. In England and Wales children traditionally hang up stockings on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day that is 25th of December there stockings get filled with candies and chocolates.

Today, in many countries Christmas is celebrated in schools, colleges, offices with Christmas parties where dances are performed and Christmas Carols are sung. Many people do volunteer work and fund raising for charities on Christmas. A special meal is said to be served on Christmas Day. Treats and Candies are also part of the Christmas celebration. There is an also a popular tradition of sending Merry Christmas Cards to our loved ones. It is also traditional to decorate the outside of the house on Christmas in Australia, North America and Europe. It is decorated with lights, and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, Snowmen, Santa Claus and other Christmas figures. The Christmas tree is also decorated and placed in the town square and the Christmas banners are hung from the street lights. Rolls of brightly colored papers with Christmas motifs on them are manufactured for gift wrapping.

Christmas in the modern times has been commercialized to a great extent. It is said that sales increase dramatically on Christmas in almost every shop as people purchase gifts, cards, Christmas trees and many more things for Christmas decorations. It can be said that presently Christmas has gained an economic importance to a great extent.