Around 1100 the term was written as Xp̄es mæsse in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Xmas is found in a letter from George Woodward in 1753. Lord Byron used the term in 1811, as did Samuel Coleridge (1801) and Lewis Carroll (1864).
The origins of Christmas stem from both the pagan and Roman cultures. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god.
The church in Rome began celebrating Christmas on December 25 in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, possibly to weaken pagan traditions.
The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on December 25, AD 336. In the 3rd century, the date of the nativity was the subject of great interest.
The date of birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources, but most biblical scholars generally accept a date of birth between 6 BC and 4 BC, the year in which King Herod died.
“The real reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion. … As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.”
History. The first Christmas celebrations in Australia have their roots to late 1788 and were introduced by convicts of the First Fleet, who arrived in Sydney Harbour early the same year.
The first date listed, December 25, is marked: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae: “Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea … ” So, almost 300 years after Jesus was born, we finally find people observing his birth in mid-winter.”
The name, Santa Claus, was stated to evolve from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas, which is translated as the Dutch name for St. Nicholas.
New Zealand is the first country on the western side of the International Date Line, the place where each day begins. The International Date Line is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth that sits mostly on the 180º line of longitude in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Why do we celebrate Christmas? Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ is more than a Christian holiday or Christian festival. It is more than an occasion to decorate our houses. It is an opportunity to pause and give thanks for the love, hope and joy found in Jesus – our Saviour and friend.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Ho ho ho is onomatopoeia for laughter, sometimes associated with Santa Claus. Ho ho ho may also refer to: Ho Ho Ho (film), a 2009 Romanian film.
Many people will tell you that the modern Santa is dressed to match the red-and-white colours of a can of Coke, and was popularised by Coca Cola's advertising in the 1930s.
While Coca-Cola did not create the legend of Santa Claus completely, it is true that Coca-Cola advertising played a big role in shaping the jolly character we know and love today.
Among them are Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, and members of the Churches of Christ. Some of the half-dozen Christian faiths that do no celebrate Dec. 25 contend there is nothing in the Bible that says Christ was born on that day.
Virtually all scholars believe, for various reasons, that Jesus was crucified in the spring of either AD 30 or AD 33, with the majority opting for the former.
BETHLEHEM, Occupied West Bank (AP) _ New archaeological evidence indicates Jesus may have been born in late summer or early fall of the year 12 B.C., and the star that led the three wise men to Bethlehem was Halley's comet.
In traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture Christmas was not celebrated but coming together and celebrating as a mob was, and continues to be, an important aspect of culture.
Although we know it as Christmas in July, Australians call this second celebration Yuletide or Yulefest. Since it's colder in July down under, Christmas can finally be celebrated with drinks by the fire and getting cozy in warm attire.
This is because of the tilt of the earth. Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere and during the month of December, there will be the summer season in the southern hemisphere and the winter season in the northern hemisphere. Q. Do you know Christmas is celebrated in summer in Australia?
The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations.
Christmas is fixed to a solar calendar and falls near the winter solstice, a fixed date on the calendar. Easter is based on the lunar cycles of the Jewish calendar. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, which are shorter than the cycles of the sun. That's why it changes from year to year.
Gift-giving and Saturnalia
This was a pagan holiday in honour of the agricultural god, Saturn. Romans would spend the week of Saturnalia much like how we spend Christmas holidays today – feasting, drinking, giving gifts, and being joyful.
Nicholas: The Real Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey.