Every year, in the month of December, people start with the preparations for the grand fiesta. Christmas lights gleam in the streets; Christmas carols fill the air with melody and rhythm, sweet smell of Christmas cakes and sweets is felt everywhere.
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.
In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter).
The more you know about the festival of Christmas, the more you want to know. ChristmasFestival is so grand that it is celebrated with great festive fervor all across the globe by people of Christian origin and also by people belonging to different communities. Christmas festival commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. People celebrate this festival of Christmas by throwing parties, exchanging gifts, singing carols, organizing family gatherings, decorating houses and a lot more.
In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Hervey's The Book of Christmas also became a best seller. In 1860, American illustrator Thomas Nast borrowed from the European stories about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, to create Father Christmas (Santa Claus). In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognize Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Christmas Celebrations
Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations for the people belonging to the Christian faith. But it would be wrong to assume that it is only celebrated among the Christians. With the world becoming a global village, Christmas is now celebrated in many countries around the world. Caroling, feasting, and gift-giving along with the prayers and wishes - Christmas is celebrated with high spirits in various parts of the world. Though the mode of celebration, the dates and the traditions vary, the spirit remains the same everywhere. While most of us celebrate it as a festive season spreading over a week, for some it is a month long festival that starts with the Advent on Sunday next to November 26 and ends on January 6 with the feast of Epiphany. Read on to have a glimpse over the different ways in which it is celebrated in different countries of the world. If you like it, click here to refer this page to your friends.
Some people who have a great curiosity to know all about Christmas. Here you will get a lot of information about Christmas ? like the History of Christmas, About Christmas, Christmas Meaning, About Christmas celebrations.
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