The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season. Theologically, the feast day reminded Christians of God’s gift of Jesus to humankind even as the coming of the Wise Men, or The tradition of celebrating Christmas as a secular family holiday is splendidly illustrated by a number of English “Christmas” carols such as “Here We Come A-Wassailing” or “Deck the Halls.” It can also be seen in the practice of sending In most European countries, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, December 24, in keeping with the notion that the baby Jesus was born on the night of the 24th. "Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day.

Learn about the Christmas traditions of Advent calendars and wreaths.Lighting of the U.S. National Christmas Tree, Washington, D.C., 2008.Christmas decorations lighting up Donegall Square, Belfast, N.Ire.Girls holding candles and singing in front of a Christmas tree in Seoul. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The Renaissance humanist Toward the end of the 18th century the practice of giving gifts to family members became well established. Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. The weeklong observance, however, was successively reduced to Christmas day and a single additional holiday on December 26.With the spread of Christianity beyond Europe and North America, the celebration of Christmas was transferred to societies throughout the non-Western world. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In Christmas has at times been the subject of controversy and attacks from various sources. Jesus was considered to be the "Sun of righteousness" prophesied by Such solar symbolism could support more than one date of birth. Christmas traditions around the world are diverse, but share key traits that often involve themes of light, evergreens and hope.

"In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday With regard to a December religious feast of the deified Sun (Sol), as distinct from a solstice feast of the birth (or rebirth) of the astronomical sun, one scholar has commented that "while 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".The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehaviour, the Puritans banned Christmas in England in the 17th century.However, in 17th century England, some groups such as the Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, linking "worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation. December 25, nine months later, then became the date of Jesus’ birth. A History of Graphic Design. The actual observance of the day of Jesus’ birth was long in coming. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspect… St Nicholas (However, other Orthodox Christians, such as those belonging to the jurisdictions of A further complication is added by the fact that the In summary, there are four different dates used by different Christian groups to mark the birth of Christ, given in the table below.

At the The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York.

In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Passover, presumably celebrated according to the local calendar in Corinth.The calculation hypothesis is considered academically to be "a thoroughly viable hypothesis", though not certain.The rival "History of Religions" hypothesis suggests that the Church selected December 25 date to appropriate festivities held by the Romans in honor of the Sun god "It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. The A second view suggests that December 25 became the date of Jesus’ birth by a priori reasoning that identified the spring equinox as the date of the creation of the world and the fourth day of creation, when the light was created, as the day of Jesus’ conception (i.e., March 25). The European History Professor Joseph Perry wrote that likewise, in As Christmas celebrations began to be held around the world even outside traditional Christian cultures in the 20th century, some Muslim-majority countries subsequently banned the practice of Christmas, claiming it undermines Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. For a long time the celebration of Jesus’ birth was observed in conjunction with his baptism, celebrated January 6.Christmas began to be widely celebrated with a specific liturgy in the 9th century but did not attain the liturgical importance of either None of the contemporary Christmas customs have their origin in theological or liturgical affirmations, and most are of fairly recent date.