Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as the religious as living as cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is for preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast as well as initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days together with culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as alive as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral component of the holiday season organized around it.
The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, requested as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were delivered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then spread the word.
There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church constant the date as December 25. This corresponds to the traditional date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar. it is for exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox. nearly Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted nearly universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, factor of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary goal in celebrating Christmas.
The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas earn a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular contemporary customs of the holiday put gift giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and caroling; viewing a Nativity play; 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, requested as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and make their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and numerous 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. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world.