Happy Christmas
Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Christmas |
A depiction of the Nativity with a Christmas tree backdrop. |
| Also called |
Noel
Yule
Feast of the Nativity |
| Observed by |
Christians
Many non-Christians[1] |
| Type |
Christian, cultural |
| Significance |
Traditional birthday of Jesus |
| Date |
December 25 (alternatively January 6, 7 or 19)[2][3][4] (see below) |
| Observances |
Church services, gift giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decorating |
| Related to |
Christmastide, Christmas Eve, Advent, Annunciation, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Yule |
Christmas or
Christmas Day (
Old English:
Crīstesmæsse, literally "
Christ's
mass") is an annual commemoration of
the birth of
Jesus Christ,
[5][6] celebrated generally on
December 25[2][3][4] as a
religious and
cultural holiday by billions of people
around the world. A
feast central to the
Christian liturgical year, it closes the
Advent season and initiates the
twelve days of
Christmastide.
[7] Christmas is a
civil holiday in
many of the world's nations,
[8][9][10] is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,
[1][11][12] and is an integral part of the
Christmas and holiday season.
The precise day of
Jesus' birth, which historians place between 7 and 2 BC, is unknown.
[13] In the early-to-mid 4th century, the
Western Christian Church first placed
Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted also in the East.
[14][15] Theories advanced to explain that choice include that it falls exactly nine months after the Christian celebration of the
conception of Jesus,
[16] or that it was selected to coincide with either the date of the
Roman winter solstice[17] or of some ancient
pagan winter festival.
[16][18]
The original date of the celebration in
Eastern Christianity was January 6, in connection with
Epiphany, and that is still the date of the celebration for the
Armenian Apostolic Church and in
Armenia, where it is a
public holiday. As of 2011, there is a difference of 13 days between the modern
Gregorian calendar and the older
Julian calendar.
Those who continue to use the Julian calendar or its equivalents thus
celebrate December 25 and January 6 on what for the majority of the
world is January 7 and January 19. For this reason,
Ethiopia,
Russia and
Ukraine celebrate
Christmas, both as a Christian feast and as a public holiday, on what in the Gregorian calendar is January 7.
The popular celebratory customs associated in various countries with
Christmas have a mix of
pre-Christian,
Christian and
secular themes and origins.
[19] Popular modern customs of the holiday include
gift giving,
Christmas music and
caroling, an exchange of
Christmas cards,
church celebrations, a
special meal, and the display of various
decorations, including
Christmas trees,
lights,
nativity scenes,
garlands,
wreaths,
mistletoe, and
holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as
Santa Claus,
Father Christmas,
Saint Nicholas and
Kris Kringle among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the
Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.
[20] Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the
Christmas
festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and
non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key
sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of
Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
Name
Etymology
The word "
Christmas" originated as a compound meaning "
Christ's
mass". It is derived from the
Middle English Cristemasse, which is from
Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.
[6] Crīst (
genitive Crīstes) is from
Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of
Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "
Messiah"; and
mæsse is from Latin
missa, the celebration of the
Eucharist. The form "Christenmas" was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal;
[21] it derives from Middle English
Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".
[22] "
Xmas" is an abbreviation of
Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter
chi (Χ) in Greek
Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous
style guides discourage its use;
[23] it has precedent in Middle English
Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).
[22]
Other names
In addition to "
Christmas", the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The
Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as
midwinter, "
midwinter",
[24][25] or, more rarely, as
Nātiuiteð (from
Latin nātīvitās below).
[24][26] "
Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin
nātīvitās.
[27] In Old English,
Gēola ("
Yule") referred to the period corresponding to January and December;
[28] the cognate
Old Norse Jól was later the name of a pagan Scandinavian holiday which merged with
Christmas around 1000.
[24] "
Noel" (or "Nowell") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French
noël or
naël, itself ultimately from the
Latin nātālis (diēs), "(day) of birth".
[29]
Celebration
Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and
public
holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations
are mostly non-Christian. In some non-Christian countries, periods of
former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g.
Hong Kong);
in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led
populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan and Korea,
where
Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of
Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations and
Christmas trees.
Notable countries in which
Christmas is not a formal public holiday include
China, (excepting
Hong Kong and
Macao),
Japan,
Saudi Arabia,
Algeria,
Thailand,
Nepal,
Iran,
Turkey and
North Korea.
Christmas celebrations around the world can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions.
Among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of
Christmas
celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local
cultures. For Christians, participating in a religious service plays an
important part in the recognition of the season.
Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance.
In
Catholic countries, the people hold religious processions or
parades in the days preceding
Christmas.
In other countries, secular processions or parades featuring Santa
Claus and other seasonal figures are often held. Family reunions and the
exchange of gifts are a widespread feature of the season. Gift giving
takes place on
Christmas Day in most countries. Others practice gift giving on December 6, Saint Nicholas Day, and January 6,
Epiphany.
Date of celebration
For centuries,
Christian writers accepted that
Christmas was the actual date on which Jesus was born.
[30] John Chrysostom preached a sermon in Antioch c. 386 which established the date of
Christmas as December 25 on the
Julian calendar
since the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:26) had been announced during the
sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist (Luke
1:10-13) as dated from the duties Zacharias performed on the
Day of Atonement during the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar Ethanim or Tishri (Lev. 16:29, 1 Kings 8:2) which falls in September–October.
[6]
In the early 18th century, scholars began proposing alternative explanations.
Isaac Newton argued that the date of
Christmas was selected to correspond with the
winter solstice,
[17] which the Romans called
bruma and celebrated on December 25.
[31] In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued
Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.
[18] In 1889,
Louis Duchesne proposed that the date of
Christmas was calculated as nine months after the
Annunciation,
the traditional date of the conception of Jesus, which itself was based
on a traditional belief that he was conceived and crucified on the same
date,
15 Nisan.
[32][16]
In the early 4th century, the church calendar contained
Christmas
on December 25 and other holidays placed on solar dates: "It is cosmic
symbolism...which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the
winter solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the summer
solstice as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as
their respective dates of conception. While they were aware that pagans
called this day the 'birthday' of Sol Invictus, this did not concern
them and it did not play any role in their choice of date for
Christmas," according to modern scholar S.E. Hijmans.
[33]
However, today, whether or not the birth date of Jesus is on December
25 is not considered to be an important issue among mainstream
Christian denominations;
[34][35][36] rather, celebrating the coming of
God into the world in the
form of man to
atone for the
sins of humanity is considered to be the primary meaning of
Christmas.
[34][35][36]
Using the Julian calendar
Eastern Orthodox national churches, including those of
Russia,
Georgia,
Ukraine,
Macedonia,
Montenegro,
Serbia and the
Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem mark feasts using the older
Julian calendar. December 25 on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the internationally-used
Gregorian calendar. However, other Orthodox Christians, such as the churches of
Greece,
Romania,
Antioch,
Alexandria,
Albania,
Finland and the
Orthodox Church in America, among others, began using the
Revised Julian calendar in the early 20th century, which corresponds exactly to the Gregorian calendar.
[4]
These Orthodox Churches celebrate
Christmas on the same day as
Western Christianity.
Oriental Orthodox churches also use their own calendars, which are generally similar to the Julian calendar. The
Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the nativity in combination with the
Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Armenian churches customarily use the Gregorian calendar, but some use the Julian calendar and thus celebrate
Christmas Day on January 19, and
Christmas Eve on January 18 (according to the Gregorian calendar).
[4]
Commemorating Jesus' birth
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus to the
Virgin Mary as a fulfillment of the
Old Testament's
Messianic prophecy.
[37]
The Bible contains two accounts which describe the events surrounding
Jesus' birth. Depending on one's perspective, these accounts either
differ from each other or tell two versions of the same story.
[38][39][40][41] These
biblical accounts are found in the
Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 1:18, and the
Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 1:26 and 2:40. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband
Joseph, in the city of
Bethlehem.
According to popular tradition, the birth took place in a stable,
surrounded by farm animals, though neither the stable nor the animals
are specifically mentioned in the Biblical accounts. However, a
manger (that is, a feeding trough) is mentioned in
Luke 2:7,
where it states Mary "wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (
KJV); the
New International Version
now translates this, "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a
manger, because there was no guest room available for them" (NIV). Early
iconographic representations of the nativity placed the animals and manger within a cave (located, according to tradition, under the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem), not a stable.
Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an
angel, and were the first to see the child.
[42] Popular tradition also holds that three kings or wise men (named
Melchior,
Caspar, and
Balthazar)
visited the infant Jesus in the manger, though this does not strictly
follow the Biblical account. The Gospel of Matthew instead describes a
visit by an unspecified number of
magi, or astrologers, sometime after Jesus was born while the family was living in a house (
Matthew 2:11), who brought gifts of
gold,
frankincense, and
myrrh to the young child Jesus. The visitors were said to be following a mysterious star, commonly known as the
Star of Bethlehem, believing it to announce the birth of a king of the Jews.
[43] The commemoration of this visit, the
Feast of Epiphany celebrated on January 6, is the formal end of the
Christmas season in some churches.
Christians celebrate
Christmas
in various ways. In addition to this day being one of the most
important and popular for the attendance of church services, there are
other devotions and popular traditions. In some
Christian denominations, children re-enact the events of the Nativity with animals to portray the event with more realism or sing
carols that reference the event. Some Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a
Nativity scene or crèche, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event. Prior to
Christmas Day, the
Eastern Orthodox Church practices the 40-day
Nativity Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, while much of
Western Christianity celebrates four weeks of
Advent. The final preparations for
Christmas are made on
Christmas Eve.
A long artistic tradition has grown of producing painted depictions of the
nativity in art.
Nativity scenes are traditionally set in a stable with livestock and
include Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus in the manger, the three wise
men, the shepherds and their sheep, the angels, and the Star of
Bethlehem.
[44]
Decorations
Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio is the site of this
Christmas display with over 3.5 million lights.
The practice of putting up special decorations at
Christmas has a long history. In the 15th century, it was recorded that in London it was the custom at
Christmas for every house and all the parish churches to be "decked with
holm, ivy,
bays, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green".
[45] The heart-shaped leaves of
ivy were said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, while
holly was seen as protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries held to represent the
Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus at the crucifixion and the blood he shed.
[46][47]
Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. They were popularised by Saint
Francis of Asissi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe.
[48]
Different types of decorations developed across the Christian world,
dependent on local tradition and available resources. The first
commercially produced decorations appeared in Germany in the 1860s,
inspired by paper chains made by children.
[49] In countries where a representation of the
Nativity Scene
is very popular, people are encouraged to compete and create the most
original or realistic ones. Within some families, the pieces used to
make the representation are considered a valuable family
heirloom.
The traditional colors of
Christmas are
green and
red.
[50] White,
silver and
gold
are also popular. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in
his crucifixion, while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular
the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter.
[47][50]
The
Christmas tree is considered by some as
Christianisation of
pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the
Winter Solstice, which included the use of
evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan
tree worship;
[51] according to eighth-century biographer
Æddi Stephanus,
Saint Boniface (634-709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to
Thor and pointed out a
fir tree, which he stated was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to
heaven and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the
Trinity.
[52] The
English language phrase "
Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835
[53] and represents an importation from the
German language. The modern
Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century
[51] though many argue that
Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.
[54][55]
From Germany the custom was introduced to Britain, first via
Queen Charlotte, wife of
George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of
Queen Victoria. By 1841 the
Christmas tree had become even more widespread throughout Britain.
[56] By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a
Christmas tree.
[57] Christmas trees may be decorated with
lights and
ornaments.
Since the 19th century, the
poinsettia, a native plant from
Mexico, has been associated with
Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly,
mistletoe, red
amaryllis, and
Christmas cactus. Along with a
Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with
garlands and
evergreen foliage. The display of
Christmas villages
has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. The
outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with
illuminated
sleighs,
snowmen, and other
Christmas figures.
Other traditional decorations include
bells,
candles,
candy canes,
stockings,
wreaths, and
angels. Both the displaying of
wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional
Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an
evergreen, make up
Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare
Christians
for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate
the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light
of the world.
[58] Both of these antiquated, more subdued,
Christmas displays are seen in the image to the right of
Saint Anselm College.
Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and
Christmas trees placed in prominent places.
[59]
It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer
shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly
colored paper with secular or religious
Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries,
Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on
Twelfth Night, the evening of January 5.
Music and carols
The first specifically
Christmas hymns that we know of appear in 4th century
Rome. Latin hymns such as
Veni redemptor gentium, written by
Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to
Arianism.
Corde natus ex Parentis (
Of the Father's love begotten) by the Spanish poet
Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.
[60]
In the 9th and 10th centuries, the
Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under
Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed
stanzas.
In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to
derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the
traditional
Christmas carol.
By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of
Francis of Asissi, a strong tradition of popular
Christmas songs in the native language developed.
[61] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of
John Awdlay, a
Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty-five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of
wassailers, who went from house to house.
[62]
The songs we know specifically as carols were originally communal
folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" as well as
Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on
medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like
"Personent hodie", "
Good King Wenceslas", and "
The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the
Middle Ages. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung.
Adeste Fidelis
(O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th
century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.
Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the
Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like
Martin Luther,
wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely
survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular
songs in the 19th century. The 18th century English reformer
Charles Wesley understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the
Great Awakening in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three
Christmas carols. The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later renamed "
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing".
[63]
Felix Mendelssohn
wrote a melody adapted to fit Wesley's words. In Austria in 1818 Mohr
and Gruber made a major addition to the genre when they composed "
Silent Night" for the St. Nicholas Church, Oberndorf.
William B. Sandys'
Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern
(1833) contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic
English carols, and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the
festival.
[64]
Completely secular
Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "
Deck The Halls" dates from 1784, and the American, "
Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about
Christmas,
based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An
increasing number of seasonal holidays songs were commercially produced
in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition,
there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk
music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and
classical music.
Food
A special
Christmas family meal
is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and
the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some
regions, such as
Sicily, have special meals for
Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In England and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard
Christmas
meal includes turkey or goose, meat, gravy, potatoes, vegetables,
sometimes bread and cider. Special desserts are also prepared, such as
Christmas pudding,
mince pies and
fruit cake.
[65][66]
In Poland and other parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish
often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as
lamb is increasingly served. In Germany, France and Austria, goose and
pork are favored. Beef, ham and chicken in various recipes are popular
throughout the world. The
Maltese traditionally serve
Imbuljuta tal-Qastan,
[67] a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after
Midnight Mass and throughout the
Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional
Christmas bread
potica,
bûche de Noël in France,
panettone in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter
Christmas delicacies include the German
stollen,
marzipan
cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits
traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges have
been long associated with special
Christmas foods.
Cards
Main article:
Christmas card cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding
Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial
Christmas card, produced by
Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843.
[68]
The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide
cross-section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards
exchanging
E-cards.
Christmas cards
are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork,
commercially designed and relevant to the season. The content of the
design might relate directly to the
Christmas narrative with
depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or
Christian symbols such as the
Star of Bethlehem, or a white
dove which can represent both the
Holy Spirit and
Peace on Earth. Other
Christmas cards are more
secular and can depict
Christmas traditions, mythical figures such as
Santa Claus, objects directly associated with
Christmas
such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated
with the season, such as Christmastide activities, snow scenes and the
wildlife of the northern winter. There are even humorous cards and
genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as
crinolined shoppers in idealized 19th century streetscapes.
Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer or
Biblical verse; while others distance themselves from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings".
Stamps
A number of nations have issued
commemorative stamps at Christmastide. Postal customers will often use these stamps to mail
Christmas cards, and they are popular with
philatelists. These stamps are regular
postage stamps, unlike
Christmas seals,
and are valid for postage year-round. They usually go on sale some time
between early October and early December, and are printed in
considerable quantities.
In 1898 a Canadian stamp was issued to mark the inauguration of the
Imperial Penny Postage rate. The stamp features a map of the globe and
bears an inscription "XMAS 1898" at the bottom. In 1937, Austria issued
two "
Christmas greeting stamps" featuring a
rose and the signs of the
zodiac. In 1939,
Brazil issued four
semi-postal stamps with designs featuring the
three kings and a
star of Bethlehem, an
angel and child, the
Southern Cross and a child, and a mother and child.
Both the
US Postal Service and the
Royal Mail regularly issue
Christmas-themed stamps each year.
Gift giving
The exchanging of
gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern
Christmas celebration, making the
Christmas season the most profitable time of year for
retailers and businesses throughout the world. Gift giving was common in the
Roman celebration of
Saturnalia, an ancient festival which took place in late December and may have influenced
Christmas customs.
[69] Christmas gift giving was banned by the
Catholic Church in the
Middle Ages due to its suspected
pagan origins.
[69] It was later rationalized by the Church on the basis that it associated
St. Nicholas with
Christmas, and that gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to the infant Jesus by the
Biblical Magi.
Legendary gift-bringing figures
A number of figures of both Christian and mythical origin have been associated with
Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are
Father Christmas, also known as
Santa Claus, Père Noël, and the
Weihnachtsmann;
Saint Nicholas or
Sinterklaas; the
Christkind; Kris Kringle;
Joulupukki; Babbo Natale;
Saint Basil; and
Father Frost.
The most famous and pervasive of these figures in modern celebration
worldwide is Santa Claus, a mythical gift bringer, dressed in red, whose
origins have diverse sources. The name Santa Claus can be traced back
to the Dutch
Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas.
Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey, during the 4th
century. Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of
children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast on December 6
came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts.
[70]
Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied
by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past
year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th
century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the
practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and
southern Europe. At the
Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or
Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to
Christmas Eve.
[70]
The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the
United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was
accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including
Washington Irving and the
German-American cartoonist
Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the
American Revolutionary War,
some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the
city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the
Dutch colonial town of
New Amsterdam and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.
[71]
In 1809, the
New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named
Sancte Claus the patron saint of
Nieuw Amsterdam, the
Dutch name for
New York City.
[72]
At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in
bishops' robes. However as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed
more secular attire.
[73]
Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By
the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the robed, fur clad, form we
now recognize, perhaps based on the English figure of Father
Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.
[74]
Father
Christmas, a jolly, well nourished, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at
Christmas,
predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th
century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and
drunkenness rather than the bringing of gifts.
[53] In
Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French
Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while
La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the
Epiphany.
It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but
got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some
cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by
Knecht Ruprecht, or
Black Peter. In other versions,
elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as
Mrs. Claus.
Santa Claus is famous around the world for giving gifts to 'good' children.
There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American
evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed
that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a
century after the end of the American War of Independence.
[75]
Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals"
of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint
Nicholas or Sinterklaas.
[76] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a booklength study in 1978;
[77]
Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains
that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and
well from the early settlement of the
Hudson Valley on.
[78]
Current tradition in several
Latin American countries (such as
Venezuela and
Colombia)
holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby
Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's
homes, a reconciliation between traditional
religious beliefs and the
iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.
In
South Tyrol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary,
Liechtenstein,
Slovakia and Switzerland, the
Christkind (
Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from
Saint Basil on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast.
[79] The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus/Father
Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a
bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by
Knecht Ruprecht.
Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children
about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this
practice, considering it deceptive.
[80]
History
The earliest evidence of the celebration on December 25 of a Christian liturgical feast of the birth of Jesus is from the
Chronography of 354 AD. This was in Rome, while in
Eastern Christianity the birth of Jesus was already celebrated in connection with the
Epiphany on January 6.
[81][82] The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later: in Antioch by
John Chrysostom towards the end of the 4th century,
[82] probably in 388, and in Alexandria only in the following century.
[83] Even in the West, the January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.
[84]
Many popular customs associated with
Christmas
developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with
certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were
celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were
later
converted to Christianity. These elements, including the
Yule log from Yule and gift giving from
Saturnalia,
[69] became
syncretized into
Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of
Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken,
carnival-like state in the
Middle Ages,
[85] to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a
19th-century reformation.
[86][87] Additionally, the celebration of
Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within
Protestant Christendom due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.
[88][89]
Mosaic of Jesus as
Christo Sole (Christ the Sun) in Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under
St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
[90]
Pre-Christian background
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
Main article:
Sol Invictus means "the birthday of the unconquered sun".
Modern scholars have argued that the festival was placed on the date
of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its
southward retreat and proved itself to be "unconquered".
[citation needed] Some early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus.
[6] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born",
Cyprian wrote.
[6] John Chrysostom
also commented on the connection: "They call it the 'Birthday of the
Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .?"
[6]
Although
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti has been the subject of a great deal of scholarly speculation,.
[citation needed] the only ancient source for it is a single mention in the
Chronography of 354, and modern Sol scholar Steven Hijmans argues that there is no evidence that the celebration precedes that of
Christmas:
[33]
"[W]hile the winter solstice on or around December 25 was well
established in the Roman imperial calendar, there is no evidence that a
religious celebration of Sol on that day antedated the celebration of
Christmas, and none that indicates that Aurelian had a hand in its institution."
[33]
Winter festivals
A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many
cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to
be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather
as spring approached.
[91] Modern
Christmas customs include: gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman
Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and
Yule logs and various foods from
Germanic feasts.
[92]
Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called
Yule, held in the late December to early January period.
[citation needed] As
Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on
Christmas, especially
Koleda,
[93] which was incorporated into the
Christmas carol. Scandinavians still call
Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with
Christmas,
[94] a usage first recorded in 900.
Christianity
The
New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Jesus.
[6][95] Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention
Christmas as a major
feast day in the
Church of Roman Africa.
[6] In
Chronographai, a reference work published in 221,
Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the
spring equinox.
[96][97] The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.
[98]
In 245, the theologian
Origen of Alexandria stated that, "only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod)" celebrated their birthdays.
[99] In 303, Christian writer
Arnobius
ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage
cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration.
[100] Since
Christmas does not celebrate Christ's birth "as God" but "as man", this is not evidence against
Christmas being a feast at this time.
[6] The fact the
Donatists of North Africa celebrated
Christmas may indicate that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311.
Feast established
The earliest known reference to the date of the nativity as December 25 is found in the
Chronography of 354, an
illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome.
[101] In the East, early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of
Epiphany (January 6), although this festival emphasized celebration of the
baptism of Jesus.
[102]
Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of
Catholicism following the death of the pro-
Arian Emperor
Valens at the
Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to
Constantinople in 379, and to
Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after
Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as
bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by
John Chrysostom in about 400.
[6]
The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas, (1686), published shortly after
Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.
Middle Ages
In the
Early Middle Ages,
Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the
magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by
Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before
Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of
St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.
[85] In Italy, former
Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.
[85] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the
Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as
Christmastide or
Twelve Holy Days.
[85]
The prominence of
Christmas Day increased gradually after
Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on
Christmas Day in 800. King
Edmund the Martyr was anointed on
Christmas in 855 and King
William I of England was crowned on
Christmas Day 1066.
By the
High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various
magnates celebrated
Christmas.
King Richard II of England hosted a
Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.
[85] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval
Christmas feasts.
Caroling
also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang.
The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that
provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as
lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may
have continued in this form.
[85] "Misrule"—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on
New Year's Day, and there was special
Christmas ale.
[85]
Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated
ivy,
holly, and other evergreens.
[103] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.
[103]
The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, and card
playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the
Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques and pageants. In 1607,
King James I insisted that a play be acted on
Christmas night and that the court indulge in games.
[104] It was during the
Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or
Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to
Christmas Eve.
[70]
Reformation into the 19th century
Following the
Protestant Reformation, groups such as the
Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of
Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of
popery" or the "rags of
the Beast."
[88] The
Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King
Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old style
Christmas generosity.
[104] Following the
Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the
English Civil War, England's
Puritan rulers banned
Christmas in 1647.
[88]
Protests followed as pro-
Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks
Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with
holly and shouted
royalist slogans.
[88] The book,
The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English
Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", and carol singing.
[105] The
Restoration of
King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many clergymen still disapproved of
Christmas celebration. In
Scotland, the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland also discouraged observance of
Christmas. James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, however attendance at church was scant.
[106]
In
Colonial America, the
Puritans of
New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of
Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in
Boston from 1659 to 1681. The ban by the Pilgrims was revoked in 1681 by English governor
Sir Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating
Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.
[89]
At the same time, Christian residents of
Virginia and
New York observed the holiday freely.
Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the
Moravian settlers of
Bethlehem,
Nazareth and
Lititz in Pennsylvania and the
Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of
Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first
Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.
[107] Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the
American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.
[108] George Washington attacked
Hessian (German) mercenaries on
Christmas during the
Battle of Trenton in 1777,
Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.
In the early 19th century, writers imagined
Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843,
Charles Dickens wrote the novel
A Christmas Carol, that helped revive the 'spirit' of
Christmas and seasonal merriment.
[86][87] Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying
Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.
[109]
Dickens sought to construct
Christmas
as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the
community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of
which had dwindled during the late 18th century and early 19th century.
[110] Superimposing his secular vision of the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of
Christmas
that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family
gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive
generosity of spirit.
[111] A prominent phrase from the tale,
'Merry Christmas', was popularized following the appearance of the story.
[112]
The term
Scrooge became a synonym for
miser, with
'Bah! Humbug!' dismissive of the festive spirit.
[113] In 1843, the first commercial
Christmas card was produced by
Sir Henry Cole.
[114] The revival of the
Christmas Carol began with
William B. Sandys Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), with the first appearance in print of
'The First Noel',
'I Saw Three Ships',
'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and
'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen', popularized in Dickens'
A Christmas Carol.
In Britain, the
Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the
Kingdom of Hanover, by
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen to King
George III. In 1832 a young
Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a
Christmas tree, hung with
lights,
ornaments, and
presents placed round it.
[115] After her marriage to her German cousin
Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.
[56]
An image of the British royal family with their
Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, created a sensation when it was published in the
Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850.
[57][116] By the 1870s, putting up a
Christmas tree had become common in America.
[57]
In America, interest in
Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several
short stories by
Washington Irving which appear in his
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and "Old
Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English
Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in
Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,
[117] and he used the tract
Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English
Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.
[104]
In 1822,
Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem
A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line:
Twas the Night Before Christmas).
[118] The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal
Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.
[119] This also started the cultural conflict of the holiday's spiritualism and its
commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book "The First
Christmas in New England",
Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of
Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.
[120]
While the celebration of
Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U.S.,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about
Christmas
here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from
being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so".
[121] In
Reading, Pennsylvania, a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored
Christmas — threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth".
[121]
The First Congregational Church of Rockford,
Illinois, 'although of genuine Puritan stock', was 'preparing for a grand
Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.
[121] By 1860, fourteen states including several from
New England had adopted
Christmas as a legal holiday.
[122] In 1870,
Christmas was formally declared a United States
Federal holiday, signed into law by President
Ulysses S. Grant.
[122] Subsequently, in 1875,
Louis Prang introduced the
Christmas card to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American
Christmas card".
[123]
Controversy and criticism
Throughout the holiday's history,
Christmas has been the subject of both controversy and criticism from a wide variety of different sources. The first documented
Christmas controversy was Christian-led, and began during the
English Interregnum, when England was ruled by a
Puritan Parliament.
[124] Puritans (including those who fled to America) sought to remove the remaining pagan elements of
Christmas. During this brief period, the English Parliament banned the celebration of
Christmas entirely, considering it "a
popish festival with no biblical justification", and a time of wasteful and immoral behavior.
[125]
Controversy and criticism continues in the present-day, where some Christian and non-Christians have claimed that an affront to
Christmas (dubbed a "war on
Christmas" by some) is ongoing.
[126][127] In the United States there has been a tendency to replace the greeting
Merry Christmas with
Happy Holidays.
[128] Groups such as the
American Civil Liberties Union have initiated court cases to bar the display of images and other material referring to
Christmas from public property, including schools.
[129] Such groups argue that government-funded displays of
Christmas imagery and traditions violate the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the establishment by Congress of a national religion.
[130] In 1984, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
Lynch vs. Donnelly that a
Christmas display (which included a Nativity scene) owned and displayed by the city of
Pawtucket, Rhode Island did not violate the First Amendment.
[131] In November 2009, the
Federal appeals court in Philadelphia endorsed a school district's ban on the singing of
Christmas carols.
[132]
In the private sphere also, it has been alleged that any specific mention of the term "
Christmas" or its
religious aspects was being increasingly
censored, avoided, or discouraged by a number of
advertisers and retailers. In response, the
American Family Association and other groups have organized boycotts of individual retailers.
[133]
In the United Kingdom there have been some minor controversies, one of
the most famous being the temporary promotion of the Christmas period as
Winterval by Birmingham City Council in 1998. There were also protests in November 2009 when the city of
Dundee promoted its celebrations as the
Winter Night Light festival, initially with no specific Christmas references.
[134]
Economics
Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many
nations around the world. Sales increase dramatically in almost all
retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts,
decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season"
starts as early as October.
[135][136] In Canada, merchants begin advertising campaigns just before
Halloween
(October 31), and step up their marketing following Remembrance Day on
November 11. In the UK and Ireland, the Christmas shopping season starts
from mid November, around the time when high street
Christmas lights are turned on.
[137][138]
In the United States, it has been calculated that a quarter of all
personal spending takes place during the Christmas/holiday shopping
season.
[139] Figures from the
U.S. Census Bureau
reveal that expenditure in department stores nationwide rose from $20.8
billion in November 2004 to $31.9 billion in December 2004, an increase
of 54 percent. In other sectors, the pre-Christmas increase in spending
was even greater, there being a November – December buying surge of 100
percent in bookstores and 170 percent in jewelry stores. In the same
year employment in American retail stores rose from 1.6 million to 1.8
million in the two months leading up to Christmas.
[140] Industries completely dependent on Christmas include
Christmas cards,
of which 1.9 billion are sent in the United States each year, and live
Christmas Trees, of which 20.8 million were cut in the USA in 2002.
[141]
In the UK in 2010, up to £8 billion was expected to be spent online at
Christmas, approximately a quarter of total retail festive sales.
[138]
In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the
year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and
institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease
activity (more than any other day of the year), whether laws require
such or not. In
England and Wales, the
Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day.
Scotland is currently planning similar legislation.
Film studios release many high-budget movies during the holiday season, including Christmas films,
fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.
One
economist's analysis calculates that, despite increased overall spending, Christmas is a
deadweight loss under orthodox
microeconomic theory,
because of the effect of gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the
difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the
gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in
2001, Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S.
alone.
[142][143]
Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to
discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight
losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact
that material gifts are often perceived as
white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.
[144]
See also
