Origin of Christmas

Christmas is the biggest holiday in the Christian world. At the beginning of the 4th century, January 6 was a double festival commemorating the birth and baptism of Jesus in various churches in the eastern Roman Empire. It was called "Epiphany", also known as "Epiphany", that is, God revealed himself to the world through Jesus. At that time, the only exception was the church in Jerusalem, which only commemorated the birth of Jesus but not the baptism of Jesus. Later, historians found a record on the page of December 25, 354 AD in the calendar commonly used by Roman Christians: "Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah." After research, it is generally believed that December 25 may be the beginning of Christmas. The Roman Church in 336 AD) spread to Antioch in Asia Minor in about 375 AD, and to Alexandria in Egypt in 430 AD. The church in Jerusalem was the last to accept it, while the Armenian church still insisted on it. Epiphany, January 6, is the birthday of Jesus. December 25th turns out to be the birthday of Mithra, the Persian sun god (the god of light). It is a pagan festival. At the same time, the sun god is also one of the gods of the Roman state religion. This day is also the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. Pagans who worship the sun god regard this day as the hope of spring and the beginning of the recovery of all things. Probably for this reason, the Roman Church chose this day as Christmas. This was one of the early efforts of the church to Christianize pagan customs and habits. Later, although most churches accepted December 25 as Christmas, due to the different almanacs used by churches in different places, the specific date could not be unified, so December 24 to January 6 of the following year was designated as Christmas. During the Christmas Tide, churches in various places can celebrate Christmas during this period according to local specific conditions. Since December 25th has been recognized as Christmas by most churches, Epiphany on January 6th originally only commemorated the baptism of Jesus. However, the Catholic Church designated January 6th as the "Feast of the Three Kings" to commemorate The story of the three kings of the East (i.e. the three wise men) who came to worship Jesus when he was alive. With the widespread spread of Christianity, Christmas has become an important holiday for Christians of all denominations and even for the majority of non-Christians. In many countries in Europe and the United States, people attach great importance to this festival and connect it with the New Year. The excitement and grandness of the celebrations greatly exceed that of the New Year, and it has become a national festival. The main commemorations on December 25 are related to the birth of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Joseph in a dream, telling him not to reject Mary because she was pregnant out of wedlock, but to marry her and name the child "Jesus", which meant that he would save the people from their sins. 

When Mary was about to give birth, the Roman government issued an order that all people must declare their household registration when they went to Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary had no choice but to obey. When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was already dark. Unfortunately, they could not find a hotel to stay. There was only a stable for temporary accommodation. At this moment, Jesus was about to be born! So Mary had no choice but to give birth to Jesus in the trough. In order to commemorate the birth of Jesus, later generations designated December 25th as Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25, but no one knows the real birth date. In the 19th century, with the popularity of Christmas cards and the appearance of Santa Claus, Christmas also became popular.

Christmas is an important holiday for Christians to commemorate the birth of Jesus. According to the Bible, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a small city in Judea. The virgin Mary became pregnant by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When she and her husband Joseph returned to their hometown, all the hotels were full, so Mary gave birth to Jesus in a trough. The shepherds in the wilderness also heard the voice of angels in heaven, announcing to them the good news of the birth of Jesus.

Nowadays, it has become a common custom in the West to give each other gifts, hold feasts, and use Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. to add to the festive atmosphere. Christmas has also become a public holiday in the Western world and many other parts of the world.