The History of Christmas

In most places around the world, billions of people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December since AD 354, replacing an earlier date of January 6th. The date of celebration is traditional and not considered to be the actual date of birth of Christ.

The word “Christmas” originated as a contraction of “Christ’s Mass”. In the early Greek version of the New Testament, the letter X is the first letter of Christ. Therefore, “XMas” is often used as the abbreviation for Christmas.

It is unknown when or why December 25 became associated with Christ’s birth because the New Testament did not give any specific date.

There were mid-winter festivals celebrated in ancient Middle East and European countries which took place at this time (December). The birth of the ancient sun-god Attis in Phrygia was celebrated on December 25th, as was the birth of the Persian sun-god, Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, an festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm. The Christmas celebration was created by the early church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to Christianity without losing their own winter celebrations.