Almost all of us celebrate Christmas, but do you even know why we celebrate? Todays topic talks all about why Christmas is celebrated :)

What is Christmas?

Christmas is an annual sacred Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the spiritual leader and founder of Christianity. While many people celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus’s birth, it’s also celebrated as a cultural holiday across the globe.

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Why is Christmas on Dec. 25?

The date wasn’t a random pick. Many historians believe that both the Pope and the Emperor liked this date because it coincided with the pagan festivals celebrating the winter solstice, which dated back centuries. (The winter solstice occurs Dec. 21 or 22, depending on the year.) Combining Christmas with these ancient celebrations allowed the church to keep the winter holiday tradition while refocusing the party on the “new” religion of Christianity; many of the pagan rituals were ditched in the process.

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How did Christmas start?

Today, Christmas is both a religious and cultural holiday, centered around the birth of Jesus and celebrated all over the world. Midwinter celebrations, usually surrounding the winter solstice, were a staple of many different cultures. After Jesus died, early Christian celebrations focused mainly on his crucifixion and resurrection, so Easter was the original big Christian holiday.

However, about three centuries later, when the Christian church had become much larger and more influential, religious and political leaders wanted a way to make the Christian holidays more popular while still allowing for the traditional celebrations people already enjoyed. Combining Christmas and the winter solstice—even if it meant giving Jesus an arbitrary birth date, as mentioned above—was the solution.

Enjoy the holidays guys!!

ok idnia