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Christmas

Updated: Wikipedia source

Christmas

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the First Sunday of Advent. This is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries and is observed by a majority of Christians; it is also celebrated culturally by many non-Christians and forms an integral part of the annual holiday season. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room, and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds, who then spread the word. There are different hypotheses regarding the date of the birth of Jesus. In the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25, the date of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire. It is nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the Roman date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, celebrating that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity is more important than knowing Jesus Christ's exact birth date. The customs associated with Christmas in various countries have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular holiday traditions include gift-giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and carolling; watching Christmas films; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; attending church services; a special meal; and displaying various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, poinsettias, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. Additionally, several related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, Christmas has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world.

Infobox

Also called
Noël, Nativity, Xmas, Yule, Koleda, Boro Din, Genna
Observed by
Christians, Alawites, many others
Type
Christian, cultural, international
Significance
Commemoration of the nativity of Jesus
Celebrations
Gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, music and entertainment, feasting
Observances
Church services
Date
December 25 Western Christianity and part of the Eastern churches January 6 Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church January 7(O.S. December 25) Most Oriental Orthodox and part of the Eastern Orthodox churches January 19(O.S. January 6) Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Related to
Christmastide, Christmas Eve, Advent, Annunciation, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Nativity Fast, Nativity of Christ, Old Christmas, Yule, Saint Stephen's Day, Boxing Day, Candlemas

Tables

· Choice of date › Table of dates
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Church or section
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Calendar
Julian calendar
Date
January 6
Gregorian date
January 19
Note
Correspondence between Julian January 6 and Gregorian January 19 holds until 2100; in the following century the difference will be one day more.
Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical Church
Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical Church
Church or section
Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical Church
Calendar
Gregorian calendar
Date
January 6
Gregorian date
January 6
Eastern Orthodox Church jurisdictions, including those of Constantinople, Bulgaria, Ukraine (state holiday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic), Greece, Romania, Moldova (Metropolis of Bessarabia), Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland, the Orthodox Church in America. Also, the Ancient Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church.
Eastern Orthodox Church jurisdictions, including those of Constantinople, Bulgaria, Ukraine (state holiday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic), Greece, Romania, Moldova (Metropolis of Bessarabia), Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland, the Orthodox Church in America. Also, the Ancient Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church.
Church or section
Eastern Orthodox Church jurisdictions, including those of Constantinople, Bulgaria, Ukraine (state holiday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic), Greece, Romania, Moldova (Metropolis of Bessarabia), Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland, the Orthodox Church in America. Also, the Ancient Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church.
Calendar
Revised Julian calendar
Date
December 25
Gregorian date
December 25
Note
Revised Julian calendar was agreed at the 1923 Council of Constantinople. Although it follows the Julian calendar, the Ancient Church of the East decided on 2010 to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar date.
Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), North Macedonia, Belarus, Moldova (Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova), Montenegro, Serbia and Jerusalem. Also, some Byzantine Rite Catholics and Byzantine Rite Lutherans.
Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), North Macedonia, Belarus, Moldova (Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova), Montenegro, Serbia and Jerusalem. Also, some Byzantine Rite Catholics and Byzantine Rite Lutherans.
Church or section
Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), North Macedonia, Belarus, Moldova (Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova), Montenegro, Serbia and Jerusalem. Also, some Byzantine Rite Catholics and Byzantine Rite Lutherans.
Calendar
Julian calendar
Date
December 25
Gregorian date
January 7
Note
Correspondence between Julian December 25 and Gregorian January 7 of the following year holds until 2100; from 2101 to 2199 the difference will be one day more.
Coptic Orthodox Church
Coptic Orthodox Church
Church or section
Coptic Orthodox Church
Calendar
Coptic calendar
Date
Koiak 29 or 28 (December 25)
Gregorian date
January 7
Note
After the Coptic insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is August (September in Gregorian), Christmas is celebrated on Koiak 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of nine 30-day months and 5 days of the child's gestation.[citation needed]
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date)
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date)
Church or section
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date)
Calendar
Ethiopian calendar
Date
Tahsas 29 or 28 (December 25)
Gregorian date
January 7
Note
Further information: Ethiopian ChristmasAfter the Ethiopian and Eritrean insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is August (September in Gregorian), Christmas (also called Liddet or Gena, also Ledet or Genna) is celebrated on Tahsas 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of nine 30-day months and 5 days of the child's gestation. Most Protestants (P'ent'ay/Evangelicals) in the diaspora have the option of choosing the Ethiopian calendar (Tahsas 29/January 7) or the Gregorian calendar (December 25) for religious holidays, with this option being used when the corresponding eastern celebration is not a public holiday in the western world (with most diaspora Protestants celebrating both days).[citation needed]
Most Western Christian churches, most Eastern Catholic churches and civil calendars; also the Assyrian Church of the East.
Most Western Christian churches, most Eastern Catholic churches and civil calendars; also the Assyrian Church of the East.
Church or section
Most Western Christian churches, most Eastern Catholic churches and civil calendars; also the Assyrian Church of the East.
Calendar
Gregorian calendar
Date
December 25
Gregorian date
December 25
Note
The Assyrian Church of the East adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1964.
Church or section
Calendar
Date
Gregorian date
Note
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Julian calendar
January 6
January 19
Correspondence between Julian January 6 and Gregorian January 19 holds until 2100; in the following century the difference will be one day more.
Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical Church
Gregorian calendar
January 6
January 6
Eastern Orthodox Church jurisdictions, including those of Constantinople, Bulgaria, Ukraine (state holiday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic), Greece, Romania, Moldova (Metropolis of Bessarabia), Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland, the Orthodox Church in America. Also, the Ancient Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church.
Revised Julian calendar
December 25
December 25
Revised Julian calendar was agreed at the 1923 Council of Constantinople. Although it follows the Julian calendar, the Ancient Church of the East decided on 2010 to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar date.
Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), North Macedonia, Belarus, Moldova (Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova), Montenegro, Serbia and Jerusalem. Also, some Byzantine Rite Catholics and Byzantine Rite Lutherans.
Julian calendar
December 25
January 7
Correspondence between Julian December 25 and Gregorian January 7 of the following year holds until 2100; from 2101 to 2199 the difference will be one day more.
Coptic Orthodox Church
Coptic calendar
Koiak 29 or 28 (December 25)
January 7
After the Coptic insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is August (September in Gregorian), Christmas is celebrated on Koiak 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of nine 30-day months and 5 days of the child's gestation.[citation needed]
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date)
Ethiopian calendar
Tahsas 29 or 28 (December 25)
January 7
Further information: Ethiopian ChristmasAfter the Ethiopian and Eritrean insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is August (September in Gregorian), Christmas (also called Liddet or Gena, also Ledet or Genna) is celebrated on Tahsas 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of nine 30-day months and 5 days of the child's gestation. Most Protestants (P'ent'ay/Evangelicals) in the diaspora have the option of choosing the Ethiopian calendar (Tahsas 29/January 7) or the Gregorian calendar (December 25) for religious holidays, with this option being used when the corresponding eastern celebration is not a public holiday in the western world (with most diaspora Protestants celebrating both days).[citation needed]
Most Western Christian churches, most Eastern Catholic churches and civil calendars; also the Assyrian Church of the East.
Gregorian calendar
December 25
December 25
The Assyrian Church of the East adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1964.

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