Christmas

Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated feasts,

celebrated by Christians and even non-Christians all over the
world, on the 25th of December each year. It is a commemoration
of the birth of Jesus Christ the son of God (Luke 2:1-20). The word
Christmas comes from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is
from Old English Crstesmsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038
followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131, which all mean
Christ's mass.
The four Gospels give no clue as per on which date Jesus
was born, but why 25th of December? One theory to explain the
choice of December 25 for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is
that the purpose was to Christianize the pagan festival in Rome
of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, meaning "the birthday of the
Unconquered Sun", a festival inaugurated by the Roman emperor
Aurelian (270275) to celebrate the sun god and celebrated at
the winter solstice, December 25.

According to this theory,

during the reign of the emperor Constantine (306-337), Christian

writers assimilated this feast as the birthday of Jesus, associating
him with the "sun of righteousness" mentioned in Malachi 4:2 (Sol
Iustitiae).
The fixing of this date fixed those too of Circumcision and
Presentation; of Expectation and, perhaps, Annunciation; and of
the Nativity and Conception of John the Baptist. Till the tenth
century Christmas counted, in papal reckoning, as the beginning
of the ecclesiastical year. Now, Christmas is celebrated at the end

of the first season of the Churchs liturgical calendar, Advent,

which lasts four weeks. Christmas day itself is at the center of the
Christmas season which also includes the feasts of Mary Mother of
God (1st January), the feast of Epiphany and ends with the
Baptism of our Lord. The liturgical color for Christmas is white,
signifying joy and happiness.
The celebration of Christmas is usually accompanied by
some signs, which are very symbolic and represent some principal
elements that surround the actual scene of the nativity. These
include; the Christmas Crib, which is usually a small hut at the
side of the church with the nativity characters fully represented,
the Christmas tree, and the Christmas wreath, which
contains candles of different colors which are lit during the
different weeks of the advent season.
Just like for Easter and other important feasts, Christmas eve
is very important too and the vigil mass is of great significance. It
was late at night that the angel appeared to announce Christs
birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) and the great Gloria is sung
to express our joy, the joy of Christmas.
Christmas day is very important to the Christian because it is
first of all, the day on which our savior was born. The day on
which the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world was
born, the day on which humanity and divinity fully met (John
1:14), as Christ was true God and true man. It is the celebration of
the mystery of incarnation. It is the day of which the prophets of
old especially Isaiah had spoken extensively. It is thus the
beginning of our salvation. It is also a reuniting event in the lives

of many families as during this period, they come together to

celebrate this great feast.
The festivities of Christmas are often so much secularized
that they result in excessive eating and drinking but the Church
encourages us to celebrate with joy but with moderation,
recognizing and rejoicing more about the spiritual significance of
the feast, which is the origin of the mystery of our redemption,
than focusing on the material and secular celebrations that are
usually attached to Christmas.