The origin of Christmas

The name "Christmas" is an abbreviation for "Christ Mass". Mass is a liturgy of the church. Christmas is a religious holiday. We celebrate it as the birthday of Jesus, hence the name Christmas. On this day, all Christian churches in the world hold special services. But there are many Christmas celebrations that have nothing to do with religion. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards make Christmas a day of celebration.

　　Christmas is the largest holiday in Christendom. At the beginning of the 4th century, January 6 was a double holiday for churches in the eastern part of the Roman Empire to commemorate the birth and baptism of Jesus, called "Epiphany" Epiphany, also known as "Epiphany", that is, God revealed himself to the world through Jesus.

　　The only exception at the time was the church in Jerusalem, which commemorated the birth of Jesus and not his baptism. Historians later found in the calendars used by Roman Christians that the December 25, 354 AD page recorded: "Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judah."

　　After research, it is generally believed that December 25, accompanied by Christmas, may have begun in the Roman Church in AD 336) to Antioch in Asia Minor around AD 375, Alexandria in Egypt in AD 430, and the church in Jerusalem Accepted the latest, while the Armenian church still insists that Epiphany on January 6 is the birthday of Jesus. December 25 turned out to be the birthday of the Persian sun god (the god of light) Mithra, a pagan holiday, and the sun god was also one of the gods of the Roman state. This day is also the winter solstice festival in the Roman almanac. Pagans who worship the sun god regard this day as the hope of spring and the beginning of the recovery of all things.

　　Perhaps for this reason, the Church of Rome chose this day as Christmas. This was one of the early efforts of the church to Christianize the customs of the pagans. Later, although most churches accepted December 25 as Christmas, it was established that the almanacs used by churches in different places were different, and the specific dates could not be unified, so December 24 to January 6 of the following year was designated as Christmas. Christmas Tide), local churches can celebrate Christmas during this period according to local specific conditions.

　　Since December 25th was recognized as Christmas by most churches, the original Epiphany on January 6th only commemorated the baptism of Jesus, but the Catholic Church designated January 6th as the "Three Kings' Day" to commemorate The story of the three kings of the East (that is, the three doctors) who came to worship when Jesus was alive. With the widespread spread of Christianity, Christmas has become an important holiday for Christians of all denominations and even the majority of non-Christians.

　　In many countries in Europe and the United States, people attach great importance to this festival and associate it with the New Year, and the excitement and solemnity of the celebrations greatly exceed the New Year and become a national festival. The main commemorations on December 25 are all related to the legend of the birth of Jesus.

　　There is a story about the birth of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. God even sent the messenger Gabriel to tell Joseph in a dream that he should not want Mary because she was pregnant out of wedlock, but should marry her, and named the child "Jesus", which means that He saved the people from their sins.

　　When Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government issued an order that all the people must declare their household registration in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary had no choice but to obey. When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was already dark, but the two could not find a hotel to spend the night, and there was only a stable to stay in. At this moment, Jesus was about to be born! So Mary had to give birth to Jesus on the manger. In order to commemorate the birth of Jesus, future generations set December 25th as Christmas, and they celebrated Mass every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

　　Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25, but no one knows the actual birthday. In the nineteenth century, with the popularity of Christmas cards and the appearance of Santa Claus, Christmas also became popular.