Christmas or
Christmas Day (
Old English:
Crīstesmæsse, meaning "
Christ's
Mass") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of
Jesus Christ,
[7][8] observed most commonly on December 25
[4][9][10] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
[2][11][12] A
feast central to the
Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of
Advent or the
Nativity Fast and initiates the season of
Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts
twelve days and culminates on
Twelfth Night;
[13] in some traditions, Christmastide includes an
Octave.
[14] Christmas Day is a public
holiday in
many of the world's nations,
[15][16][17] is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people,
[1][18][19] and is an integral part of the
holiday season.
The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of
pre-Christian, Christian, and
secular themes and origins.
[20] Popular modern customs of the holiday include
gift giving, completing an
Advent calendar or
Advent wreath,
Christmas music and
caroling, lighting a
Christingle, an exchange of
Christmas cards,
church services, a
special meal, and the display of various
Christmas decorations, including
Christmas trees,
Christmas lights,
nativity scenes,
garlands,
wreaths,
mistletoe, and
holly. In addition, several closely 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.
[21]
Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival
involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a
significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses.
The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily
over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
While the month and date of
Jesus' birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid 4th century, the
Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25,
[22] a date later adopted in the East,
[23][24] although some churches celebrate on the December 25 of the older
Julian calendar,
which, in the Gregorian calendar, currently corresponds to January 7,
the day after the Western Christian Church celebrates the
Epiphany.
The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with
the day exactly nine months after the day on which early Christians
believed that
Jesus was conceived,
[25][26] or with one or more
ancient polytheistic festivals that occurred near
southern solstice (i.e., the
Roman winter solstice);
[27][28] a further
solar connection has been suggested because of a biblical verse
[a] identifying Jesus as the "Sun of righteousness".
[25][29][30][26]
Etymology
"Christmas" is a compound word originating in the term "
Christ's
Mass". It is derived from the
Middle English Cristemasse, which is from
Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038
[8] followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131.
[31] Crīst (
genitive Crīstes) is from
Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of
Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "
Messiah", meaning "anointed";
[32][33] and
mæsse is from Latin
missa, the celebration of the
Eucharist. The form "Christenmas" was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal;
[34] it derives from Middle English
Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".
[35] "
Xmas" is an abbreviation of
Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter
chi (Χ) in Greek
Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous
style guides discourage its use;
[36] it has precedent in Middle English
Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).
[35]
Other names
In addition to "Christmas", the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The
Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as "midwinter",
[37][38] or, more rarely, as
Nātiuiteð (from
Latin nātīvitās below).
[37][39] "
Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin
nātīvitās.
[40] In Old English,
Gēola ("
Yule") referred to the period corresponding to January and December, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas.
[41] "Noel" (or "Nowell") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French
noël or
naël, itself ultimately from the Latin
nātālis (diēs), "(day) of birth".
[42]
