Christmas – A Festival To Celebrate More Than The Birth Of Lord Jesus Christ

Christmas – A Festival To Celebrate More Than The Birth Of Lord Jesus Christ

Christmas – A Festival To Celebrate More Than The Birth Of Lord Jesus Christ 1

Christmas is the most important Christian festival celebrated annually on 25th Dec. In our festival news section this time we are presenting the storty of Christmas. Christmas, which literary means celebration of Christ is a day to rejoice the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God in human form. At the same time it is also a celebration of everything that is good and just. The festival derives its name from the phrase Christ –Mass, which is the only mass in Christianity that is held after sunset and before sunrise the next day. Over the years, Christmas celebrations have overcome the borders of religion and have become an event for families and friends across the globe to come together and spend quality time with each other.

The Story Of Christmas

As mentioned before, Christmas is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Jesus Christ. However, what is really surprising in this festival news is that the actual birth date of the Lord is not known, and even the Bible does not mention the date on which He was born. In fact the date which was recorded for the first time as evidence of celebrating Christmas on 25th Dec dated back to as early as 336AD, when Emperor Constantine ruled Rome. It was only some years later that it was officially declared as the day for Christmas celebration by Pope Julius I.

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One of the most popular reasons for choosing this day for celebrating the birth of the Lord, is that Mother Mary learned that she would bear the son of God on 25th March. The deliverance of this truth by God’s angel, also known as the Annunciation, is still celebrated on 25th March. As per legend Mother Mary gave birth to Lord Jesus nine months after the annunciation, and the date corresponds to 25th Dec. According to some other legends, the day was selected because the early Christians believed the world was created on this day and also that the day corresponded with the death of Lord Jesus Christ.

Another common and well accepted reason for choosing Dec 25 for celebrating Christmas was that the ancient Roman Pagan festivals of midwinter, associated with the Winter Solistice were celebrated around this day. Since the people were already celebrating something, it was considered best to integrate this festival in the same time without causing much disturbance in the traditions of the masses. In fact, the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, or the festival of lights, starts on the 25th day of Jewish calendar month of Kislev that in turn corresponds to the month of December, which might also have prompted the Church to choose this date.

The current date of 25th Dec is based on the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. However, there are still a large number of orthodox and Coptic churches, which celebrate Christmas on 7th January as per the Julian calendar. This date is also referred to as “Old Christmas” and is actually the date on which Christmas would have been celebrated but for the change of calendars.

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Wish U All A Merry Christmas