Christmas (in English :ChristmasChristmas ( French : Noël, nativity ) is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ . Many members of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25, and many also celebrate it on the evening of December 24. Members of most Orthodox churches around the world also celebrate December 25 as the Nativity of Christ. Some Orthodox Christians in Russia , Ukraine , the Holy Land , and elsewhere, following the Julian calendar , celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Armenian Apostolic Church, by unique tradition, celebrates both the Nativity and the Baptism of Christ on January 6.The 12 days of Christmas begin with the Nativity of Christ on December 25 and continue until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Although the most important religious holiday in the Christian calendar is Easter (the day of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus ), many countries, especially the United States and Canada , consider Christmas to be the most important annual Christian event. Although it is considered a religious holiday, it has been widely celebrated as a secular holiday since the early 20th century , and for most people it is an opportunity to gather with relatives and friends and give gifts. Christmas is celebrated with special rituals, such as decorating a pine tree , and a character named Noel plays an important role in it. Early Christianity distinguished between the actual date of Jesus' birth and the religious observances commemorating this event. In the first two centuries of Christianity, the recognition of the birth dates of Christian martyrs and, accordingly, of Jesus, met with much opposition among the followers of this religion. Many of the Church Fathers had scathing and sarcastic views on the celebration of birthdays in pagan religions (rival religions of Christianity or polytheism), and in fact, from the Church's point of view, the day of the martyrs' death should be celebrated as the actual day of their birth. The exact origin of the choice of December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ is shrouded in mystery, and historians are not certain when the followers of Christ began to celebrate his birth. Although the four Gospels in the New Testament describe Jesus' birth in detail, no date is mentioned in them. December 24 was first mentioned as the birthday of Christ in the writings of Sextus Julius Africanus (the first Christian historian) in 221 AD , and was later widely accepted in the Christian world.
But most scholars believe that this day became popular as a replacement for the celebration of the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun" or Sol Invictus (dies solis invicti nati), which was celebrated in the Roman Empire at the winter solstice as a symbol of the rebirth of the sun, throwing off winter and calling for the rebirth of spring and summer, and that Christmas was in fact a "Christianized" form of this celebration. Before adopting Christianity as the official religion of Rome in the 4th century AD, the Romans honored the planet Saturn , the ancient god of agriculture, every year on December 17 in a festival called Saturnalia . This celebration lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice , which according to the ancient Julian calendar occurred around December 425. During the Saturnalia, Romans would hold feasts and celebrations, postpone business and disputes, give gifts to each other, and temporarily free slaves, as some believe that the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas was influenced by the Saturnalia. The mystery cult of Mithraism , based on the worship of the ancient Persian god Mithra , was also widespread in the lands under Roman rule, and many Romans celebrated the lengthening of the days following the winter solstice by participating in a ceremony to commemorate Mithra's birthday on December 25. These celebrations and other rituals continued until January 1, when the Romans considered this day the first day of the new month and year. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the birthday of Christ to give Christian meaning to the pagan rituals of the time. For example, the church replaced the birthday of Mithra, the god of light, with the birthday of Jesus, whom the New Testament calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church, hoping to bring Mithraists into Christianity, allowed them to continue celebrating their own celebration on the previously set date as a celebration of Christ's birthday.
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