CHRISTMAS ENCYCLOPEDIA!!

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CHRISTMAS : Origin, History and Traditions

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Christmas is one part of the year that everyone celebrates in one way or the other; either as a public holiday or as a religious celebration.

It is a period of the year which is most elaborate and celebrated by billions of people all over the world.

However, only a handful of people know the origin and history of the celebration; What it's all about, why it's celebrated this time of the year and how it became what it is today.
In the spirit of Christmas, we'll be taking a dive into the origin and history of Christmas.

Christmas is the shortened form of "Christ Mass" which could mean a service of worship to Christ. It has also been called "Feast of Nativity", "First Noel" amongst others.

Christmas by common Knowledge, is a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who is born Saviour of the world.
Born in a manger in Bethlehem, according to prophecy in the scriptures.
It is usually celebrated on the 25th of December ( of the Gregorian calendar) every year.

However, the scriptures do not make mention of the exact date of the birth of Christ. So how did the date come about?
Well, there have been a handful of hypotheses to how and why the date was selected.

One of the most popular hypotheses on the date of Christmas is of it's connection to Roman and pagan celebrations, most notably festivals of the god of agriculture(saturn) and birth of the sun god(Mithra).

The hypotheses says two things; first, that it was set on that date in a bid to absorb the pagan celebrations which some Christians at the time were still inclined to, both celebrations which were raucous, drunken parties.

Secondly, it makes reference to a scripture in the bible where Christ was referred to as the "sun of righteousness" as possibly being a premise upon which his birth was to be on the day on which the birth of the Roman sun god was celebrated.

Another popular hypotheses is that which seemed to be from the perspective of christian scholars. It is more of a "Calculation hypothesis" between time of conception and birth proposed by French writer Louis Duchesne in 1889.

Adam C. English, Professor of Religion at Campbell
University, wrote on examining the biblical evidence regarding the timing of the conception.

He stated that , it would seem the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy which was on the same day her husband, Zechariah entered the Temple sanctuary was September 24.

This conclusion was because, given the drama of the event Zechariah must've entered the sanctuary on the highest and holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. And the date reckoned for this occurrence is September 24, based on computations from the Jewish calendar in accordance with Leviticus 23 regarding the Day of Atonement.

That day been According to Luke 1:26, Gabriel's annunciation to Mary took place in the "sixth month" of Elizabeth's pregnancy... Counting six months from September 24 we arrive at March 25, the most likely date for the annunciation and conception of Mary. Nine months hence takes us to December 25, which turns out to be a surprisingly reasonable date for the birthday.… In Palestine, the months of November mark the rainy season, the only time of the year sheep might find fresh green grass to graze. During the other ten months of the year, animals must content themselves on dry straw. So, the suggestion that shepherds might have stayed out in the fields with their flocks in late December, at the peak of the rainy season, is not only reasonable, it is most certain.

It is noteworthy that there have been objections and criticism on the date selection by some christian denominations like Puritans, Presbyterians and Jehovah Witnesses. They're argument being notably that the date isn't scriptural and as well as for the fact that secular symbolism have been brought into the way of it's celebration.

A more striking fact is that on various occasions through history, Christmas has been banned and Cancelled in most part of the middle East, UK and even in the United States of America. Usually because of how it was celebrated and also due to the religious beliefs of some of the rulers then.

Pope Julius I is said to have chose December 25.
And the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on December 25, AD 336. Although it has been speculated that celebrations had begone earlier than the said date.

The Christmas celebration has been observed with some traditions like characteristic colours (red,green and gold), Christmas carols, Christmas tree, Santa Claus, lightings, gift giving, and special meals.
These traditions however have not always been so but evolved over the years.

The tree tradition for example hails from Northern Europe, where Germanic pagan tribes decorated evergreen trees in worship of the god Woden with candles and dried fruit. The tradition was incorporated into the Christian faith in Germany during the 1500’s. They decorated trees in their homes with sweets, lights, and toys.

Additionally, in the context of a Christian celebration of Christmas, the Christmas tree, being evergreen in colour, is symbolic of Christ, who offers eternal life; the candles or lights on the tree represent the Light of the World—Jesus—born in Bethlehem.[189..

There's also the tradition of Santa Claus.

Inspired by St. Nicholas, born in southern Turkey. He was a bishop in the early Christian church and suffered persecution and imprisonment for his faith. Coming from a wealthy family, he was renowned for his generosity towards the poor and disenfranchised

St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century in New York, when Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

In the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and parts of Germany, he was known as Sinter Klaas. (a shortened version of the name Saint Nicholas). This is where the Americanized Santa Claus comes from.

The iconic version of Santa Claus as a jolly man in red with a white beard and a sack of toys was immortalized in 1881, when political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.” and created the image of Old Saint Nick we know today.

The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion; green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree; and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.

Francis of Assisi is attributed with the first Nativity of Jesus scene. He is said to have assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in Italy and children sung Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Jesus. This took place in A.D. 1223.

Although Christmas Carols do not have a definite Origin and are considered a West England tradition, Arthur Warrell a composer, conductor and organist is considered responsible for the popularity of the carol.

And there you have it some salient points on the Origin and history of Christmas.