Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before the introduction of Christmas, each year beginning on December 17 Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Many Romans also celebrated the lengthening of daylight following the winter solstice by participating in rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light (see Mithraism). These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.
Although the Gospels describe Jesus’ birth in detail, they never mention the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity
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For example, colonists in the American South may have aspired to recreate a sense of the English Christmas. But colonial accounts of Christmas celebrations in the South do not mention the presence of mummers (masked or costumed merrymakers) or waits (musicians or carolers paid to perform at Christmastime), both of which were central figures of the traditional English Christmas. Nor do historical accounts describe settlers engaging in such traditional English customs as feasting on boars’ heads or drinking from wassail bowls (bowls filled with spiced ale or
Christmas is filled with traditions and events, but how did they start and why do we still do them? Traditions are often passed down throughout generations for centuries, but the origins are often unknown or forgotten.
Although Christ's Nativity has been celebrated since the 4th century, most of the English customs we are familiar with today are as recent as the mid-19th century. Many of the early ceremonies were started with pagan beliefs.
Jesus was born approximately on April 17, 6 BCE, to Mary, a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee. Christians believe that she conceived Jesus miraculously in union with God; which is also why many people refer to Jesus as the Son of God. She married Joseph, a shepherd, and accompanied him to Nazareth, where Jesus was born. So, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus was born to a descendant of King David.
Perhaps it is safe to conclude, then, that the Greco-Roman sun gods were, at some point, substantially rooted in Jewish culture. Though scholars may never know, it’s possible this is why Christmas is celebrated on th...
Christmas was originally supposed to be a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. Modern historians suggest that Christ was actually born sometime in April, but that is hardly the point; the point is that a day on which to celebrate his birth and life was needed, and so one was chosen. During the season surrounding this holiday -- especially since it coincided with that of other, similar holidays -- it was thought right to honor Jesus by acting as he did, i.e., in a kind, generous, and forgiving manner. Out of this sprung the custom of giving gifts to loved ones on this holiday.
It is not known exactly when Jesus was born, but according to the Christian calender, his birth year was circa 4 B.C. Christmas, the day of Christ’s birth, is celebrated by Christians on December 25, but the actual day and month of his birth are unknown. Rachel Zurer, a followe...
specific date of his birth is not known but is celebrated on the feast of
We can see the birth of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:18-25) (Matt 2:1-12), Luke (Luke 2:1-2) and John (John1:1-18). Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus’ birth place was in Bethlehem in Judea in the time of King Herod of Judea and Emperor Augustine of the Roman Empire. The gospels tell us that Jesus was born in a stable under an inn (Luke 2:7). This is unlikely because Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor. This means that there may have been a house with his cousins or extended family there. The Hebrew word for inn can also be described as ‘the upper room’ and in traditional Jewish houses, there was an upper room where the family stayed and underneath this was the place where the animals were kept. This could have been seen as the stable under the ‘inn’. Now because of the census performed by Emperor Augustine the Jews had to travel to their ancestral home that meant that the house Mary and Joseph were staying at could have been full, so the upper room was full, making the only available room for the baby to be born in the stable below. Jesus was thought to be traditionally born in 1AD after the Monk Dionysus Exigus tried to calculate the year, from the Birth of Jesus, by taking away the reigns of Kings. Unfortunately Exigus made a few errors and Jesus is now thought to be born a few years BC. We know that in Matt 2:1 and Matt2:16 (Luke 1:55) that King Herod the Great was the ruler of Judea. From Roman records we know that King Herod died in 4BC near the feast of the Passover. This means that the earliest time Jesus could have been born was early 4BC. Herod plays an integral part in determining Jesus birth date because it also could explain the Bethlehem Star, which we...
The Bible provides no guidelines that explain how Christmas should be observed, nor does it even suggest that it should be considered a religious holiday. Because of the lack of biblical instructions, Christmas rituals have been shaped by the religious and popular traditions of each culture that celebrates the holiday.
Before we examine the new Christmas celebration during the Victorian era in England- due to Mr. Dickens, we must review the pre- victorian, or Regency Period Christmas (1811-1820). The Regency Period was the contrary to popular belief, early Christmas celebrations were very much different than the Christmas we all know and love today. This Christmas was much more boring with “Simple decorations” according to Paula Wrightston. Unfortunately for the younger people Wrightston says that a Regency Christmas was more of an adult affair. Not only were traditions and age requirements different, but the actual dates differed as well with the first day of the season being the 24th of December running through the 6th of January making the Christmas season 12 days in length (Wrightston). So far it seems as if dickens’ made Christmas much more enjoyable for future generations most definitely. Although the early Christmas was different, some traditions never change. One example of this is the Christmas puddings, Wrightston says that although the Regency era people did not specifically have Christmas Pudding, they had a more liquified version of this t...
There have been several claims that Mithraism and Christianity are similar. Some of these resemblances are the virgin birth. According to Mithraism, Mithras was born from a virgin mother just as to Christianity where Jesus was born to a virgin mother named Mary. Another comparison is the birth date December 25. In relation to Mithraism, Mithras was born on December 25 and that a ceremony took place on this date in celebration of Mithras’ birth. Likewise, with Christianity, Jesus was born on the 25th of December and in celebration of his birth was also held called Christmas. In addition, the sign of the cross; in accordance with
According to the book of Matthew, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,” indicating he was born between 6 and 4 BCE (Matthew 2:1). The Bible refers to this as the virgin birth because Joseph and Mary never conceived him. He was a human being in which God took his form. Very little is known about his childhood and the Bible only reveals a picture of Jesus and his teachings when he was approximately 30 years of age. Whatever happened to Jesus during these years is a mystery to us all, but whatever happened transformed him into the divine being which he is today.
People have celebrated a mid-winter festival since pre-historic times. They marked the beginning of longer hours of daylight with fires and ritual offerings. The Roman festival of Saturnalia -- a time for feasting and gambling -- lasted for weeks in December. Germanic tribes of Northern Europe also celebrated mid-winter with feasting, drinking and religious rituals.
How Christians Celebrate Religious Festivals and Why they Continue to Celebrate Them Today The church year is called the liturgical year, which begins with Advent, and it has many liturgical seasons. Each season has one or more religious festivals. Festivals are celebrations to remember the important events in Jesus' life. There are three cycles in the Christian year, these are; (i) The Christmas cycle begins with Advent , a period of preparation prior to Christmas Day, December 25th, when Jesus was born.
no reason to get up early so they can stay out late and sleep late in the