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Why do we celebrate Christmas Day every year on December 25? Find out with a brief history of this all-important Christian festival—and know the meaning behind the symbols of Christmas. Plus, let’s bring Christmas alive with recipes, crafts, poetry, and customs from around the world!
When Is Christmas Day?
For Western Christian churches, Christmas Day always occurs on December 25, though some cultures observe the main celebration on the night prior, Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day Dates
Year
Christmas Day
2023
Monday, December 25
2024
Wednesday, December 25
2025
Thursday, December 25
2026
Friday, December 25
Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on December 25?
Christmas Day is an annual Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Specifically, the meaning of Christmas comes in the remembrance and celebration of God’s presence in our world through Jesus, God-made flesh. Christmas is also extensively celebrated by non-Christians as a seasonal holiday, on which popular traditions such as gift-giving, feasting, and caroling take place.
Although the actual date of Christ’s birth is unknown, Christmas has been symbolically celebrated on the 25th of December since the 4th century.
Scholars can’t agree on exactly when Christ was born, and the exact circumstances of the beginning of Christmas as we know it remain obscure. Some chronographers of the third century reckoned December 25, around the winter solstice, was the most likely day of Christ’s birth, although other dates had been suggested, including several in spring and fall.
The oldest existing record of a feast to celebrate the birth of Christ in the Western Church is in the Roman almanac called the Chronographer (or Chronography) of 354, also known as the Philocalian Calendar. This almanac noted that the church in Rome observed a festival commemorating Christ’s birth in the year 336.
About 350 A.D., Pope Julius I set December 25 as the date the Church would commemorate when Jesus was born. Many historians believe that the Church stirred up interest in a festival at this time of year to counter the pagan festivals surrounding the solstice, but no historical document unequivocally explains Rome’s reasons for setting the date as December 25.
“Christmas” comes from the Old English Cristes maesse, meaning “Christ’s Mass.”
Today’s rich mosaic of Christmas customs dates back through the ages worldwide. For example, the candles and lights associated with Christmas, meant to symbolize guiding beacons for the Christ child, may have evolved from the Yule log, which was lit to entice the Sun to return as part of the jol (Yule) festival in pagan Scandinavia.
Here are two more popular Christmas traditions and how they originated:
How did the idea of a Christmas tree start? Its origin is probably within winter celebrations long before the beginning of Christianity. The practice of decorating a tree, or using plants and trees that were green year-round, was important for people in winter climates. Some cultures believed evergreens would keep witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and even illness at bay. During the Middle Ages, December 24 was celebrated as the Feast of Adam and Eve, complete with a Paradise Tree, a fir tree hung with red apples. Today, the practice of using decorated evergreen trees as part of the Christian celebration of Christmas is a custom begun in Germany over 400 years ago that spread rapidly throughout northern Europe and, hence, became a tradition transplanted to the New World by European immigrants. → See the story behind the Christmas wreath.
How did the custom of giving Christmas presents originate? The ancient Romans gave each other gifts on the calends (first day) of January, and the practice spread throughout the Roman Empire. Eventually, Christians moved the custom to December 25, although many Christians still give gifts on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the manifestation of Jesus’ divine nature to the Magi. → Learn the origins of many more Christmas traditions.
Find Christmas poems and verses to share and express your thoughts about this special time of year.
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, Please put a penny in the old man’s hat; If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do, If you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you! –Beggar’s Rhyme
All glory be to God on high, And to the Earth be peace; Good-will henceforth from heaven to earth begin and never cease! –Nahum Tate
Granny’s come to our house, And ho! my lawzy-daisy! All the children round the place ist a-runnin’ crazy! –James Whitcomb Riley
Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. –Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Darling of the world is come, And fit it is we find a room To welcome Him. The nobler part Of all the house here is the heart. –Robert Herrick
Hark, how all the Welkin rings, ‘Glory to the King of Kings’; Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild, God and sinners reconcil’d. –Charles Wesley
We wish all of our readers a very happy and peaceful Christmas!
Christmas is a pagan celebration which was common in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They used to celebrate the end of a year and the birth of a new year. The celebration would start on the 24th and end on the 1st day of the new year. When christianity was introduced to the middle east, the pagan holiday continued to be celebrated. To stop the pagan ritual, the christians thought of renaming it 'the birth of Jesus' instead of 'the birth of the new year'.
Jesus was most likely born in September.
the reason people celebrate dec.25 has nothing to do with jesus's bithday. it's a sientific reason. on june 21. the sun stars heading south, a little at a time until dec.21,the winter solstice. but it dosn't start coming back right away.not dec22, 23, 24 , but it starts coming back on dec.25. pagans started celebrating saying yeah it's coming back. we're not going to freeze . that is why we celebrat dec 25. now you know the rest of the story!
Jesus is the reason. Yes, 12/25 was taken over by Christianity. But 12/25 is celebrated primarily for Christmas…Christ’s Mass. He is worthy of our praise and worship! Jesus means “God saves.” His life, death, and resurrection shows how great the Father’s love is for us.
Thank you for the most lovely email today, from you:
Merry Christmas From all of us at The Old Farmer's Almanac
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
–Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–70)
Gather ’round the tree, it’s Christmas Day!
Good tidings of comfort and joy to you, our Almanac companions.
This past week, as we paged through old Almanacs, we came across three bits of wisdom to share . . .
In the spirit of Christmas, may we give of ourselves to bring happiness to others.
May we remember that we must be good neighbors to make good neighbors.
As it grows colder outside, may our hearts grow warmer within!
And as 2019 dawns, we wish all of our Almanac readers a very Happy New Year!
To quote the words of our founder,
“Start the year square with every man!”
Christmas is actually a Pagen holiday, but due to Christians conquering lands, Christians decided to merge their beliefs into the Pagen holiday to gain more followers. Originally, Pagens would have feast, commit homicide, and enduldge in drinking alcohol. Christmas is not a Christian holiday. Historians agree that the birth of Jesus was most likely in the summer.
All comments that are not family-friendly will be deleted. We accept all opinions, however, we do not tolerate taunting behavior or disrespect of ANY religion. This is fully at the discretion of the The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
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