Christmas

Christmas

  Christmas is celebrated on the 25^th of December by Western Christians and on the 7^th of January by Eastern Orthodox Christians. According to Christian beliefs, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, who is believed to be both the Messiah and the son of god.  Interestingly, neither Gospels actually mention the date of Jesus’ birth, this was actually set by Pope Julius in the 4^th century CE to help Christianise the Pagan celebrations that took place at that time of year. The Birth of Jesus has been described in the Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mathew and the New Testament; however there is a disagreement among Christians about the status of the accounts, some regarding them as describing theological truths but not historical ones. A more widely accepted and popular version has is according to the Gospel of Luke, which states that Mary had given birth to Jesus in a stable surrounded by farm animals. Whereas the Gospel of Mathew states the family lived in a house after the birth of Jesus and received presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh from astrologers.

How do Christians celebrate Christmas?

The four weeks leading up to Christmas are referred to as Advent, which basically translates to ‘coming’ and during this period of time Christians think about Jesus coming to the world and the significance and meaning behind it. Christmas is also seen as a time to give thanks as they believe that through Jesus, God gave himself to the world, and helped change the lives of humanity for the better. Hence, Christmas remembers his birth and celebrates his incarnation.  Throughout this period Advent candles are lighted and Advent calendars are used to count the days leading up to Christmas.  As traditionally Christians believe that Jesus was born at night based on the Gospel of Luke, therefore to commemorate his birth on Christmas Eve a midnight Mass is held and that is why Christmas Eve is referred to as the ‘Holy Night’.  Midnight Mass is not generally celebrated at midnight around the world but rather late evening in churches where carols and prayers are performed. Christmas trees are also put up in homes, and whilst the origins of the Christmas tree stems from German tradition from the early 14^th century it has still become a very symbolic part of modern Christmas. Lights are also a very important symbolic part of Christmas which is used on the trees and throughout home which are meant to signify that Jesus is the light of the world.

 In modern times the celebration of Christmas has seen influenced from both pagan and folk traditions and many Christians have concerns regarding its over-commercialisation.  For example, the custom of gift exchanges was a practice adopted from the celebration of Saturnalia, which was common with Romans and also celebrated in late December. This tradition has now helped Christmas become the highest profitable holiday of the year.