2006-12-15 20:38:44 · 5 answers · asked by blu 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Other - Holidays
It's a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus.
2006-12-15 20:41:24 · answer #1 · answered by RIVER 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Coca Cola and Hallmark greeting card company invented Christmas to fill in a sales slump around December then every other manufacture of goods jumped on board after seeing the dramatic rise in profits. Church organizations realized they too could greatly profit from this occasion and joined in as well. It is a boost to People to pretend that they are helping orphans and the homeless for a couple of minutes a year so they play along as well to justify getting all the crap they receive on this celebration, and finally to make it really work on all levels the twenty fifth of December was reassigned as the birthday of some guy named Jesus that a lot of wealthy People worship as the crucified son of God. There You go, that's Christmas's origins. Hey, have a Merry Christmas!
2006-12-16 06:51:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that marks the traditional birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas combines the celebration of Jesus' birth with various other traditions and customs, many of which were influenced by ancient winter festivals such as Yule[1] and Saturnalia. Christmas traditions include the display of Nativity scenes and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill, giving, compassion, and quality family time.
Christmas Day falls on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day on December 26. Some Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, which corresponds to December 25 on the Julian calendar. December 25 as a birthdate for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not thought to be his actual date of birth.[2]
Christmas is celebrated in most countries around the world, owing to the spread of Christianity and Western culture, along with the enduring popularity of wintertime celebrations. Various local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated by film, popular literature, television, and other media
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
2006-12-16 04:42:30 · answer #3 · answered by memo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Origin of Christmas - The Traditions and Controversies
For today's Christian, the origin of Christmas is, and should be, the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible. Nothing more and nothing less. However, most of what we witness on December 25th each year has absolutely nothing to do with that blessed day, which probably occurred in late summer or early fall about 2,000 years ago. In fact, most of the customs and traditions of Christmas actually pre-date the birth of Jesus, and many of them are downright deceptive in their meaning and origin. Here are a few examples:
The date of December 25th probably originated with the ancient "birthday" of the son-god, Mithra, a pagan deity whose religious influence became widespread in the Roman Empire during the first few centuries A.D. Mithra was related to the Semitic sun-god, Shamash, and his worship spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras. Rome was well-known for absorbing the pagan religions and rituals of its widespread empire. As such, Rome converted this pagan legacy to a celebration of the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice period. The winter holiday became known as Saturnalia and began the week prior to December 25th. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and downright debauchery, as the priests of Saturn carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession throughout the Roman temples.
Variations of this pagan holiday flourished throughout the first few centuries after Jesus Christ, but it probably wasn't until 336 AD that Emperor Constantine officially converted this pagan tradition into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas.
2006-12-16 04:41:26 · answer #4 · answered by corrina_7462 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christmas was at first just a regular day, but it got zapped by special radiation in an accident, developing super powers. Today we celebrate this with wastefully extravagant light displays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/christmas
2006-12-16 04:46:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋