In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Passover, presumably celebrated according to the local calendar in Corinth. Tertullian (d. 220), who lived in Latin-speaking North Africa, gives the date of passion celebration as March 25. The date of the passion was moved to Good Friday in 165 when Pope Soter created Easter by reassigning the Resurrection to a Sunday. According to the calculation hypothesis, the celebration of the Quartodeciman continued in some areas and the feast became associated with Incarnation.
By the Middle Ages, Europeans created some of the Christmas customs we recognize today. During the 17th and 18th centuries, people started to give gifts as symbolic of the Magi arriving in Bethlehem with offerings for the newborn baby Jesus. By the 19th century, fir wreaths laden with 24 candles representing the 24 days before Christmas were later reduced to a much safer four candles.
In the U.S. there has been a tendency to replace the greeting Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays, which is considered inclusive at the time of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Humanlight. In the U.S. and Canada, where the use of the term “Holidays” is most prevalent, opponents have denounced its usage and avoidance of using the term “Christmas” as being politically correct. Supreme Court ruled in Lynch v. Donnelly that a Christmas display owned and displayed by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, did not violate the First Amendment. American Muslim scholar Abdul Malik Mujahid has said that Muslims must treat Christmas with respect, even if they disagree with it. In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity , whether laws require such or not.
In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, enslaved people were given temporary freedom and treated as equals. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could participate in the holiday’s festivities. In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January.
Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England’s Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647. The celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain groups, such as the Puritans and Jehovah’s Witnesses , due to concerns that it was too unbiblical. In addition to “Christmas”, the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as “midwinter”, or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from Latin nātīvitās below). In Old English, Gēola referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas.
When a Massachusetts cop saw the list of things two women were trying to steal from a grocery store five days before Christmas, their situation touched his heart. Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays, but it is also widely celebrated in nonreligious ways. Most often, the word Christmas refers to Christmas Day—the day on which the holiday is observed, most commonly December 25. A live-action Santa Claus makes a magical appearance in your home, delivering holiday cheer, singing carols and placing presents under the tree.
A must-watch for the entire family, Disney’s animated take on the classic Charles Dickens story offers a unique visual experience (and also stars the hilarious Jim Carrey as the curmudgeonly Scrooge!). A sequel to 1999’s The Best Man, director Malcom D. Lee reunites the original cast, including Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard and Nia Long for a holiday-themed comedy. Make sure to tell your loved ones how much you care for them throughout this season. This Netflix original about a postman who befriends a reclusive toymaker makes for a great family Christmas film — especially with the beautiful animation that will leave you really feeling the holiday magic. Watching this Chevy Chase movie will make anything your family does at Christmas seem totally normal by comparison.