2006-12-25 00:08:27 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
Hallmark. so they can make money
2006-12-25 00:22:50 · answer #1 · answered by I Hate Kids 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. This is worthy of celebrating because He came to free us all from our sins, and make it possible for us to be saved. Not having to go to Hell when you die is a pretty cool thing all in all, you must admit.
There is nothing in the Bible to state which day Jesus was actually born on. I once saw a rather reasonable case for it being sometime in April, but nobody really knows.
There are several theories about how Christmas wound up being celebrated at the same time as Saturnalia, and when. Saturnalia, was a week long holliday that started December 13th when even slaves got time off (at least in theory), everyone dressed up, ate a lot, gambling was legal. See Wikipedia for details.
The Chrismas tree is a German custom that was introduced to England by Queen Victoria, (her husband Prince Albert was a German). I don't know where the Germans got it from, but it could well be a pagan holdover, St. Boniface converted the Germans by cutting down their sacred oak trees.
A lot of Pagans will tell you that this somehow means Christmas is a somehow a Pagan holiday. This is rougly equvelant to saying that on the Forth of July Americans are REALLY celebrating the fact that on July 4th 1892 Western Samoa changed which side of the International Date Line it was on, or that on July 4th 1187 the Moslems won the Battle of Hattin, or that on July 4th 1810 the French occupied Amsterdam. On Christmas day Christians celebrate THE FACT that Jesus Christ was born. Whether they have the "right" day or not, or whether other people also had holidays on that particular day are totally irrelevant. It's Jesus' birth that is being celebrated, regardless of whatever else happened on that day or in that season.
2006-12-25 10:42:46 · answer #2 · answered by Larry R 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pagans around the world were celebrating Winter Solstice long before Christmas was even around, a festival marking the return of the light & longer days. Christians placed Christmas around Winter Solstice as a way to convert the Pagans, even finding ways to turn Pagan symbols of the holidays into Christian symbols. (Example: Pagans used evergreen trees to represent that life is eternal, the world may look dead in the winter, but the life will return with the light.) It is not even known if December 25 was really Jesus's birthday. I am Wiccan with a Christian family, so I celebrate both holidays - my house is just as decorated as anyone else's, our decorations of course have meanings to both holidays :)
2006-12-25 08:54:14 · answer #3 · answered by Erika 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The followers of Christ invented the holiday! Jesus Christ was born on Dec 25th, and they wanted to celebrate the wonderful occasion, and to let everyone know that Christ had been born! Christmas is a spectacular holiday. Jesus's birth is the reason for the season! And while your celebrating today, don't for get that! I hope I helped you out! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
2006-12-25 09:14:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It doesnt matter who started it... As long as it is the most celebrated holiday in the world that constantly gave good cheer and love to every generation. Merry CHRISTmas to everyone and have a blessed new year.
2006-12-25 08:30:06 · answer #5 · answered by Panchito 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christmas was placed on December 25th by the Roman Catholic Church in order to replace the paganistic ritual of Winter Solstice. By most accounts, Jesus was born sometime in August. If you were to look at the Roman Catholic calendar and compare it to the holidays celebrated by many of the pagan faiths you'd see that most of the Catholic holidays coincide with pagan festivals.
2006-12-25 09:26:25 · answer #6 · answered by lifewebdesign 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About everything about the day is pagan except the name. The "crucified savior" birthday celebration on the 25th (Mithra), winter, the gift giving, the parties, the decorated tree, the mistletoe, the yule log and more were around on the day long before christianity came into being.
2006-12-25 08:56:04 · answer #7 · answered by American Spirit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christopher Masse, famed patriarch of the Paulean community of the Corinths, started a campaign in the early 1100s to present the coming into the world of Jesus in a mythological story whose symbolism pointed to subtle truths. After 5 years of campaigning and developing the symbolic story, he was successful. They then honored him by calling it Christmas.
2006-12-25 08:27:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was a Pagan holiday and the Christians basically stole it and incorporated many of the Pagan traditions into it to get them to converte.
2006-12-25 09:52:38 · answer #9 · answered by Laura 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm thinkin Jesus started Christmas.
2006-12-25 08:13:08 · answer #10 · answered by Dr. Nick 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Christians , to celebrate the birth of Jesus
2006-12-25 08:45:33 · answer #11 · answered by MIHAELA M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋