When was Christmas first celebrated and by who?

Answer 1

A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included less agricultural work needing to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. In part, 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. Most of the most important gods in the religions of Ishtar and Mithra had their birthdays on December 25. Various Christmas traditions are considered to have been syncretised from winter festivals including the following:

Answer 2

The shepherds watching their flocks by night celebrated the first Christmas as well as Mary and Joseph. The wisemen probably came later (after Jesus was born). There was even a Scrooge like character on the first Christmas-- the inn keeper who had no room in the inn. The modern celebration with the Christmas tree, presents and egg nog dates back to Victorian (1800s) England with many of the customs quickly adopted by us in the states. The celebration of Christmas as a recognition of Christ's birthday probably dates back to the 400s. For many centuries, the celebration of Christmas was a solemn, religious occasion and wild festivities would have been considered inappropriate.

Answer 3

'When the Magi brought their gifts' is a good Biblical answer. But I'm going to give a -historical- answer. Are you sitting comfortably?

About 10,000 years ago, man made the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer. Agriculture developed, and with it what we call 'civilization'. There were towns, governments (well, power structures) and organized religions.

Organized religions meant that there was a special class of people, a 'priesthood' who didn't have to spend all their time grubbing for a living and so could study the skies, develop theology, take care of sacrifices and 'cultic practices', etc.

For these early agricultural societies, the timing of the seasons was very important. So it was the priesthood who developed the ability to predict when seasons would change, when to plant, when to harvest, etc.

Every year in the fall days got shorter and shorter. Then at some point they'd start getting longer and longer and soon it would be planting time. It was the priests who learned to predict when days would stop getting shorter and begin getting longer. Even thousands of years ago these guys were able to predict this almost to the very day!

So often they'd have some kind of conspicuous ceremony on that day. Perhaps they even fooled people into believing that it was this ceremony that -caused- the days to start getting longer. That would be job security for priests!

Historians are pretty sure Jesus was not born at the end of December, in the middle of Winter. For one thing, there would not be shepherds out tending their flocks by night in the dead of Winter. For another, it would be a strange time for the Roman emperor to call a census, causing people to travel long distances.

But Paul decided to take Christianity to the pagans and in doing so he adopted many of the Pagan customs and practices. They all already had celebrations around that time of year, so it's thought that Paul moved Christmas to the time of the Winter solstice. Easter also is at the same time as a big Pagan festival marking the beginning of Spring, the vernal equinox (in fact the very word 'Easter' is the name of a pagan goddess!)

Answer 4

Here's the reason we celebrate christmas on December 25th. In the Roman times, people started noticing that the hot sun, went away during the months october - december, but that the sun came back during the months may - sept (winter and summer). During the months october - december, roman people would worship the sun God to encourage him to bring back the sun the following year. The bishops of the Catholic church noticed that the roman people were doing this, and they were not pleased as they only wanted the romans to worship christ, therefore to stop them worshipping the Sun God, they decided to have a celebration of Christ's birth during December to stop them worhsipping the sun god during these months. It has stuck and that's why we celebrate it now.

Answer 5

When Jesus the Christ child was born. It was celebrated by all who were visited by Angels and knew of his birth.

Answer 6

it is an ancient pagan holiday going back thousands of years before the Christians tried to co-opt it.

no one knows who first celebrated it.

Answer 7

when the 3 wisemen brought gifts to Jesus when he was born

Answer 8

hmmm... i guess Jesus . i mean , it is his birthday ...... i wonder if he got good loot ......