This day more than two billion individuals (over 1/3 of the population) will be celebrating Christ’s birth. Christ.
What time when is Christmas Day?
Christmas Day celebrates the Nativity of Jesus that (traditionally but not so in actual fact) occurred on the 25th of December 1 BC. 25 December is an official holiday in many nations around the globe. When 25 Dec falls during a weekday day, any weekday that falls in the same week could be considered an alternative day of celebration.
The origins of the holiday
The holiday is an enduring connection to the gospel of Jesus’ birth Jesus Many of the customs we associate with Christmas are derived from pre-Christian beliefs , and the customs have evolved from being a solely Christian December Global Holidays to carry an broader significance for the secular world.
The celebration of Christmas during the latter part of December is definitely due to the pre-existing celebrations that took place at this time. It is also an event known as the Winter Solstice.
Most notable among them most notable is the Yule (meaning “Feast”) It is a pagan winter festival initially celebrated with Germanic people. The precise date of Yule is dependent on the lunar cycle , however it occurs between the end of December and the beginning of January. In certain Northern Europe countries, the term used for Christmas is local and has a more linguistic connection to ‘Yule’ rather than ‘Christmas which is still a word that is used to refer to Christmas in certain English-speaking countries. A number of Yule customs are common to the modern-day Christmas celebration like Yule Log, the custom of burning a large wood log over the flame during the Christmas season; or singing carols, which is quite a unique custom.
In the Julian calendar the winter solstice was scheduled for December 25. This date was also the day that was celebrated as the Roman holiday of Saturnalia that was held to honor Saturn, god of agriculture. This was later superseded with Sol Invictus which was a December Global Holidays that brought together the celebration of a variety of sun-based gods into one simple celebration.
As Christianity began to gain grip throughout all of the Roman kingdom and even beyond, the question of Christ’s birth Christ was a bit of an issue. There were different dates being proposed.
It wasn’t until around 350 AD that the bishop of Rome the pope Julius I, established the official date for Christmas on December 25. It was unfortunate that Julius I did not show the method by which the date was determined; certain scholars suggested later that the date was calculated as nine months following the Annunciation (March 25) which is when Gabriel appeared to Mary. Gabriel was said to appear to Mary and said that she was going to bear the child of God. Whatever the reason it is obvious that, as the most important pagan sites were selected to build new churches, the time of year was selected in order to propel Christmas into an important festival by putting it on top of the existing pagan holidays.
Christmas Traditions
Mistletoe
Kissing someone be standing under a mistletoe sprig is considered to be a tradition that became popular during Victorian England. But this somewhat contemporary tradition has traditional roots in that Mistletoe is a fruit that blooms during the Winter Solstice, and its claimed power to heal and boost fertility.
There is a hint of Mistletoe its integration into pagan celebrations to Christmas traditions is the belief that the mistletoe tree used in the past to function as a tree as well as its timber was utilized to construct the Cross upon which Jesus died. Following the Crucifixion the plant shrank into the parasitic vine that we see now.
Carol Singing
As we mentioned previously the practice of singing carols can be traced to pagan holidays prior to christmas. In fact, the word carol originates by it’s Greek word choraulein which was “an antiquated circle dance, performed to music played by a flute.”
Since carols were a common practice and tradition, early Christians took the wise decision to include Christian carols into traditional instead of banning the singing.
The majority of the new Christian songs were composed in Latin that was, until the middle age, the only language used by the church, which slowed down the appeal of the tradition.
But, they received popularity after St. Francis of Assisi established the Nativity Plays in Italy in 1223. It also included songs composed in the local language.
The tradition of ‘Modern’ Christmas Carols’ was popular in England. It was referred to as Wassailing as it was a way for peasants to obtain aid from feudal Lords. The idea of singing for money was born through a custom that involved touring musicians who would go to wealthy homesand sing hoping to receive cash or other gifts in exchange.
The short break came in 1647, after the puritans took over following their victory in the English Civil War. The puritans under the direction under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, disapproved of the Christmas celebration. It was also possible to impose a penalty of up to five shillings per those who were who was caught sing Christmas tunes. In 1660, when the king Charles II came back to the throne, in 1660 the performing of the Christmas songs was allowed once more.
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