What is Christmas?

Answer 1

a holiday i dont celebrate.

Answer 2

Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. Traditions include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill, compassion and peace.

In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day on December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6, while certain old rite or old style Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, the date on the Gregorian calendar which corresponds to 25 December on the Julian Calendar. The date as a birthdate for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not widely considered to be his actual date of birth.

The word "Christmas" is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass." It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, Dutch has a similar word, Kerstmis often shortened to Kerst. The words for the holiday in Spanish (navidad), Portuguese (natal), Polish (Boże Narodzenie), French (noël), Italian (natale), and Catalan (nadal) refer more explicitly to the Nativity. In contrast, the German name Weihnachten means simply "hallowed night." After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol, the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word 'Yule' is derived. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-sixteenth century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.

Answer 3

A Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus- Son of God. It is a day of loving, family, remembering, and a lot more. It is also the time when Santa Clause comes to give presents to the good little boys and girls.

Answer 4

As you can see from the answers, it's different things to different people. I can only answer for myself.

It's meant various things to me over the years. As a kid, it was the times my mother and I decorated the tree and made ornaments or baked cookies. The best t.v. specials were on at Christmas (cartoons on t.v. in the evening was only a holiday thing back then).

We'd sit together and watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas," or one of the many variety show specials (I had no idea who Perry Como was, just that Mom loved his voice). I have great memories of time spent with Mom, relaxing, having fun.

As a young adult, it was The Annual Festival of Stress, which began just before Thanksgiving and ended (well, got less severe) on New Year's Day. Travelling home for the holidays, driving for hours in the snow, the fights, the holiday shopping (how to get a million presents on almost no money? Have to have something for everyone!).

When I first married, the stress multiplied. Two families, then three (thanks, divorce) fighting over us. "You'll come here for Christmas, of course!" "What do you mean you won't be coming home for Christmas?"

At some point, I started to dread the holidays. My mother passed away suddenly. We found out on Christmas Eve that she was terminally ill - she was gone before the next Christmas came. A few years later, we lost our best friend the day before Thanksgiving. I'd had it with the holidays. I just wanted to "opt out."

When did it change? I can't pin down a date. It was gradual, a part of maturing, changing my life, myself. Over time, I started resenting the fact that stress and unpleasant memories were stealing my holidays. I wanted to enjoy them again.

I reconnected with my faith, which changed a lot in my life. It gave the season meaning. I came to see that the commercialization of Christmas was a human idea, and like many human plans, had a flaw. It put the focus on the wrong thing. Remove the soul from something, and it's hollow at the core. Ultimately unsatisfying. There's "no there there."

Restore the soul to it and you find the important, satisfying parts return to you. We started volunteering more. Helping others reminded us of what we had, reminded us that God loves everyone - not just the obviously favored. We received more than we gave - kindness, smiles, welcome, joy.

We took the focus off gifts. Not that we don't give them - they just aren't the main focus. We try to give gifts that say "I pay attention to who you are and like you as you are," not huge gifts chosen to impress.

We started remembering the joy my mother and our dear friend took in the holidays, in just being together. We remembered the laughter, the warmth. We yearned for it and realized we weren't willing to give all that up - that we had to find it in ourselves and continue it, in their memory, and for our own sanity.

It's been a gradual process. Now, the holidays are a time of peace and joy. We love hanging the lights, trimming the tree, volunteering, spending time with those we love, giving, receiving, loving. Christmas has returned to something like what it was when I was a child. I keep trying to move the hanging of the lights back every year - my husband's holding the line at the day after Halloween. We're getting together with a friend to make ornaments in a week or so. We're looking forward to cuddling up with our dogs, playing games, watching t.v. specials, and laughing.

What is Christmas? A chance to remind ourselves that we all have something to give, and should take time to give it. A chance to focus on love, to share and receive it, to truly pay attention to it and enjoy it. A time to remember that we are loved, that someone once did something remarkable for us, something he didn't have to do, without us asking Him to, simply out of love.

It's a long answer, I know, but for me, it's true.

Answer 5

Christmas is actually a religous holiday.They celebrate the day of birth of Jesus Christ.The present thing was pasted along through the years because weeks later the three kings came and give Jesus Christ three presents.Jesus Christ is not a god, he is the son of god and of Virgian Mary.

Answer 6

A day when nothing matters but the Christmas spirit and your family all snugged up in one roof. Giving, loving and of course PRESENTS....

Answer 7

It is a commemorative celebratory occasion of the birth of the only God, who is the whole world's ONLY LORD AND SAVIOR, Jesus THE Christ, whether the world is intelligent enough and mature enough to know that. God Bless you.

Answer 8

okkk

it when u put presents under the christmas tree
and u all give presents to eachother... its all about giving

Answer 9

It's a date that was originally set up to celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born.

Answer 10

A day set aside to celebrate Jesus' birthday

Answer 11

A pagan tradition adopted by "christians "and other religions as the birth of Jesus and all to readily accepted by everyone in the comercial world as a way to make money.