Christmas

Christmas [Christ's Mass], in the Christian calendar, feast of the nativity of Jesus, celebrated in Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches on Dec. 25. In liturgical importance it ranks after Easter , Pentecost , and Epiphany (Jan. 6).

The observance probably does not date earlier than AD 200 and did not become widespread until the 4th cent. The date was undoubtedly chosen for its nearness to Epiphany, which, in the East, originally included a commemoration of the nativity. The date of Christmas coincides closely with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a time of rejoicing among many ancient cultures. Christmas, as the great popular festival of Western Europe, dates from the Middle Ages. In England after the Reformation the observance became a point of contention between Anglicans and other Protestants, and the celebration of Christmas was suppressed in Scotland and in much of New England until the 19th cent.

In the mid 19th cent. Christmas began to acquire its associations with an increasingly secularized holiday of gift-giving and good cheer, a view that was popularized in works such as Clement Clarke Moore 's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823) and Charles Dickens's story A Christmas Carol (1843). Christmas cards first appeared c.1846. The current concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in New York in the 19th cent. (see Nicholas, Saint ).

The Yule Log [ Yule, from O.E.,=Christmas], the boar's head, the goose (in America the turkey), decoration with holly, hawthorn, wreaths, mistletoe, and the singing of carols by waifs (Christmas serenaders) are all typically English (see carol ). Gifts at Christmas are also English; elsewhere they are given at other times, e.g., at Epiphany in Spain. The Christmas tree was a tradition from the Middle Ages in Germany. The crib ( crèche ) with the scene at Bethlehem was popularized by the Franciscans. The midnight service on Christmas Eve is a popular religious observance in the Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches.

See also Advent and Twelfth Night .

Bibliography: See M. Hadfield and J. Hadfield, The Twelve Days of Christmas (1961); P. L. Restad, Christmas in America (1995).

Christmas Feast in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, common in Christendom since the 4th century. Although the exact date of Christ's birth is unknown, the feast takes place on December 25 within all Christian churches. Christmas is also a secular holiday, marked by the exchange of presents.

Christmas Literally Christ‐Mass, the liturgical commemoration of the birth of Christ. There is evidence of its observance on 25 December at Rome by the early 4th cent. There is no evidence to support the theory that this was the actual birth‐date of Christ. The choice was rather dictated by well‐established pagan celebrations on that day. Many of the features of modern Christmas, such as Christmas trees, cards, and boxes, are Victorian rather than earlier.