Definition of Christmas - Encyclopedia Britannica

Source : Encyclopedia Britannica

Christmas

(from Old English Cristes maesse, "Christ's mass"),
Christian festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating
the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also a popular secular
holiday.

According to a Roman almanac, the Christian festival of
Christmas was celebrated in Rome by AD 336. In the eastern
part of the Roman Empire, however, a festival on January 6
commemorated the manifestation of God in both the birth and
the baptism of Jesus, except in Jerusalem, where only the
birth was celebrated. During the 4th century the celebration
of Christ's birth on December 25 was gradually adopted by
most Eastern churches. In Jerusalem, opposition to Christmas
lasted longer, but it was subsequently accepted. In the
Armenian Church, a Christmas on December 25 was never
accepted; Christ's birth is celebrated on January 6. After
Christmas was established in the East, the baptism of Jesus
was celebrated on Epiphany, January 6. In the West, however,
Epiphany was the day on which the visit of the Magi to the
infant Jesus was celebrated.

The reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December
25 remains uncertain, but most probably the reason is that
early Christians wished the date to coincide with the pagan
Roman festival marking the "birthday of the unconquered sun"
(natalis solis invicti); this festival celebrated the winter
solstice, when the days again begin to lengthen and the sun
begins to climb higher in the sky. The traditional customs
connected with Christmas have accordingly developed from
several sources as a result of the coincidence of the
celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan
agricultural and solar observances at midwinter.

In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time
of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also
regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god
Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year
(January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights,
and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these
observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when
the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain, and
central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and
Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, and gifts and greetings
all commemorated different aspects of this festive season.
Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have
always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan
and Christian. Since the European Middle Ages, evergreens,
as symbols of survival, have been associated with Christmas.
Christmas is traditionally regarded as the festival of the
family and of children, under the name of whose patron,
Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, presents are exchanged in
many countries.