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A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included less agricultural work needing to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the [[winter solstice]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]].<ref>"[http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas/viewPage?pageId=1252 "Christmas - An Ancient Holiday"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref> In part, the Christmas celebration was created by the early Church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to [[Christianity]] without losing their own winter celebrations.<ref>"[http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=1253&display_order=1&sub_display_order=2&mini_id=1290 "Saturnalia"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref><ref>"[http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm "Christmas - An Ancient Holiday"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref> Most of the most important gods in the religions of Ishtar and Mithra had their birthdays on [[December 25]]. Various traditions are considered to have been [[Syncretism|syncretised]] from winter festivals including the following:
A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included less agricultural work needing to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the [[winter solstice]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]].<ref>"[http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas/viewPage?pageId=1252 "Christmas - An Ancient Holiday"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref> In part, the Christmas celebration was created by the early Church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to [[Christianity]] without losing their own winter celebrations.<ref>"[http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=1253&display_order=1&sub_display_order=2&mini_id=1290 "Saturnalia"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref><ref>"[http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm "Christmas - An Ancient Holiday"], ''The [[History Channel]]'', 2007.</ref> Most of the most important gods in the religions of Ishtar and Mithra had their birthdays on [[December 25]]. Various traditions are considered to have been [[Syncretism|syncretised]] from winter festivals including the following:

====Saturnalia====
{{Main|Saturnalia}}
In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, the best-known winter festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout [[Italy]]. Saturnalia was a time of general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation of formal rules. It included the making and giving of small presents (''Saturnalia et Sigillaricia''), including small dolls for children and candles for adults.<ref name="Bruma"> [http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/SF/WinSol.html Bruma], University of Tennessee</ref> During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even [[public nudity]]. It was the "best of days," according to the poet [[Catullus]].<ref name="Sempronia">Sempronia, Julilla, [http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/242252 "Ancient Voices: Saturnalia], ''AncientWorlds'' 2004.</ref> Saturnalia honored the god [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.<ref name="Mosley1">Mosley, John, [http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/common_errors_xmas.html "Common Errors in 'Star of Bethlehem' Planetarium Shows"], ''Planetarian'', Third Quarter 1981.</ref>

====Natalis Solis Invicti====
{{Main|Sol Invictus}}
[[Image:Christus Sol Invictus.jpeg|thumb|180px|Alleged representation of Christ in the form of the sun-god [[Helios]] or ''Sol Invictus'' riding in his chariot. [[Third century]] mosaic of the Vatican grottoes under [[St. Peter's Basilica]], on the ceiling of the tomb of the [[Pope Julius I|Julii]].]]
The Romans held a festival on December 25 called ''[[Dies Natalis Solis Invicti]]'', "the birthday of the unconquered sun." The use of the title [[Sol Invictus]] allowed several [[Solar deity|solar deities]] to be worshipped collectively, including [[El (god)|Elah-Gabal]], a Syrian sun god; [[Sol]], the god of Emperor [[Aurelian]] (AD 270-274); and [[Mithras]], a soldiers' god of [[Persian mythology|Persian]] origin.<ref name="CathMithra">"[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10402a.htm "Mithraism"], ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1913.</ref> Emperor [[Elagabalus]] (218-222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.<ref>"Sol." ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Chicago (2006).</ref>

December 25 was also considered to be the date of the [[winter solstice]], which the Romans called ''bruma.''<ref name="Bruma"/> It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When [[Julius Caesar]] introduced the [[Julian Calendar]] in [[45 BC]], December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia.''<ref name="CathChrit"/> Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus.<ref name="Britannica">[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9082431/Christmas "Christmas], ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Chicago: [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 2006.</ref> "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," [[Cyprian]] wrote.<ref name="CathChrit"/>

====Yule====
{{Main|Yule}}

[[Germanic paganism|Pagan]] [[Scandinavia]] celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. [[Yule log]]s were lit to honor [[Thor]], the god of thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days.<ref name="Yule HC"> [http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=1252&display_order=1&sub_display_order=1&mini_id=1290 An Ancient Holiday] History Channel</ref> In pagan [[Germania]] (not to be confused with [[Germany]]), the equivalent holiday was the [[Winter solstice|mid-winter night]] which was followed by 12 "''wild nights''", filled with eating, drinking and partying.<ref name="Reichmann">Reichmann, Ruth, [http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/xmasintr.htm "Christmas"].</ref> As [[Northern Europe]] was the last part to Christianize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas ''Jul''. In English, the Germanic word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Yule Yule]. ''The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,'' Fourth Edition. Retrieved [[December 3]], [[2006]].</ref> a usage first recorded in 900.


===Origin of Christian festival===
===Origin of Christian festival===

Revision as of 21:53, 14 November 2007

Christmas
File:Christmas collage.PNG
Also calledChrist's Mass
Yule
Yule Tide
Observed byChristians around the world, as well as by non-Christians who usually focus on the holiday's secular traditions.
TypeChristian/Secular
Significancetraditional birthdate of Jesus
Observancesreligious services, gift giving, family meetings, decorating trees
DateDecember 25 (December 24 in some countries)
The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6
January 7 in Old Calendarist Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the churches of Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Finland, Greece and Cyprus observe Christmas on December 25.
Related toAnnunciation, Incarnation, Advent; the winter holiday season

Christmas is an annual holiday that Christians use to mark the birth of Jesus. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various secular 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, love, acceptance, kindness, generosity, excitement 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 (or Saint Stephen's 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.[1]

The word "Christmas" is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass." It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[2] 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,[2] the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word 'Yule' is derived.[3] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-sixteenth century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.[4] Hence, "Xmas" is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.


History

Pre-Christian winter festivals

A winter festival was traditionally the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included less agricultural work needing to be done during the winter, as well as people expecting longer days and shorter nights after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.[5] In part, the Christmas celebration was created by the early Church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to Christianity without losing their own winter celebrations.[6][7] Most of the most important gods in the religions of Ishtar and Mithra had their birthdays on December 25. Various traditions are considered to have been syncretised from winter festivals including the following:

Origin of Christian festival

Origen, a father of the Christian church, argued against the celebration of birthdays, including the birth of Christ.

It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus' birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.[8] Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in AD 221.[8] This date is nine months after the traditional date of the Incarnation (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. March 25 was considered to be the date of the vernal equinox and therefore the creation of Adam; early Christians believed this was also the date Jesus was crucified. The Christian idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died on the cross is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number of years.[9]

The identification of the birth date of Jesus did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Jesus' birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays[10].

The earliest reference to the celebration of Christmas is in the Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[2][11] In the east, meanwhile, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus.[12]

Christmas was promoted in the east as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress of Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[2]

Middle Ages

Adoration of the Magi by Don Lorenzo Monaco (1422).

In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[13] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[13] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 26 - January 6).[13]

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. Christmas during the Middle Ages remained a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.[14] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was practiced more often between people with legal relationships (i.e. tenant and landlord) than between close friends and relatives.[14]

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[13] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[13] "Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[13]

Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.

The Reformation and the 1800s

During the Reformation, some Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings of popery" and the "rags of the Beast". The Roman Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[15] The Restoration of 1660 ended the ban, but many of the Nonconformist clergy still disapproved of Christmas celebrations, using Puritan arguments.

In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas; its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[16]

By the 1820s, sectarian tension in England had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying out. They imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion over communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[17]

Interest in Christmas in America was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving appearing in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and "Old Christmas", and by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.[18] The poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas popularized the tradition of exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[19] In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a character who complained that the true meaning of Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree.[20]

Christmas was declared a United States Federal holiday in 1870. Starting in the late 1800s, the economic importance of Christmas led to concerns over what has been seen by some as the increasing commercialization of Christmas.

The 20th century and after

"Now it is Christmas again" (1907) by Carl Larsson.

In 1914, the first year of World War I, there was an unofficial truce between German and British troops in France. Soldiers on both sides spontaneously began to sing carols and stopped fighting. The truce began on Christmas Day and continued for some time afterwards.[21] Many stories about the truce include a football game between the trench lines.

Christmas as a secular holiday

Throughout the 20th century, the United States experienced what became known as the Christmas controversies over the nature of the day, and its dual status as a religious feast day and a secular holiday of the same name. The importance of the economic impact of the secular Christmas holiday was reinforced in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed moving the Thanksgiving holiday date to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy during the Great Depression.[22] Religious leaders protested this move, with a New York Times roundup of Christmas sermons showing the most common theme as the dangers of an increasingly commercial Christmas.[23]

Some considered the U.S. government's recognition of Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation of the separation of church and state. This was brought to trial several times, recently including in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)[24] and Ganulin v. United States (1999).[25]

The Slovenian version of Santa, Ded Moroz or Father Frost.

On December 6, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin v. United States (1999) declared that "the establishment of Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose." This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on December 19, 2000. At the same time, many devout Christians objected to what they saw as the vulgarization and cooption of one of their sacred observances by secular commercial society and calls to return to "the true meaning of Christmas" are common.

Debates about Christmas in America continued into the 21st century. In 2005, some Christians, along with American political commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, protested what they perceived to be the secularization of Christmas. They felt that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Christian agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.[26]

Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts

Santa Claus hands out gifts during the US Civil War in Thomas Nast's first Santa Claus cartoon, Harper's Weekly, 1863.

In Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Joulupukki, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost).

The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[27]

Father Christmas, who predates the Santa Claus character, was first recorded in the 15th century, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness.[28] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

In Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italy) and Liechtenstein the Christkind brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsman (who is the German version of Santa Claus). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[29]

Christmas tree and other decorations

File:DSC04820.JPG
Christmas display in a Brazilian shopping mall
Malaga (Spain) during Christmas

The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs,[30] and an adaptation of pagan tree worship.[31] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[28] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[31] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[32] From Germany the custom was introduced to England, first via Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria. Around the same time, German immigrants introduced the custom into the United States.[33] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

Since the 19th century, the poinsettia has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.

In Australia, North and South America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Municipalities often sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.[34]

In the Western world, rolls of brightly-colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels.

Economics of Christmas

Gifts under a Christmas tree.

Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items in October and early November.[35]

In most areas, 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 (more than any other day of the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.

Most economists agree, however, that Christmas produces a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[36][37] Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory.

Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[38] This is mitigated by white elephant gift exchanges in which participants make the best of their white elephants, and by alternative giving. Some people have taken to selling their unwanted gifts shortly after Christmas on online auction sites.

Arts and media

File:Leech ghostpresent big.jpg
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas present, by John Leech. Made for Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol (1843).

Many fictional Christmas stories capture the spirit of Christmas in a modern-day fairy tale, often with heart-touching stories of a Christmas miracle. Several have become part of the traditions in their countries of origin.

Among the most popular are Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. The Nutcracker tells of a nutcracker that comes to life in a young German girl's dream. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge rejects compassion, philanthropy, and Christmas until he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who show him the consequences of his ways.

Some Scandinavian Christmas stories are less cheery than Dickens's. In H. C. Andersen's The Little Match Girl, a destitute little girl walks barefoot through snow-covered streets on New Years Eve, trying in vain to sell her matches, and peeking in at the celebrations in the homes of the more fortunate.

In 1881, the Swedish magazine Ny Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten featuring the first painting by Jenny Nyström of the traditional Swedish mythical character tomte, which she turned into the friendly white-bearded figure and associated with Christmas.

Many Christmas stories have been popularized as movies and TV specials. Since the 1980s, many video editions are sold and resold every year during the holiday season. A notable example is the film It's a Wonderful Life, which turns the theme of A Christmas Carol on its head. Its hero, George Bailey, is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On Christmas Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide by magically showing him how much he meant to the world around him. The 1964 stop-motion version of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, narrated by Burl Ives, became an annual holiday tradition on US television after its first telecast. Perhaps the most famous US animated television production is the 1965 production A Charlie Brown Christmas, wherein Charlie Brown tries to address his feelings of dissatisfaction with the holidays by trying to find a deeper meaning in them. This special is noted for one character's retelling of the first Christmas. But its popularity in the USA is rivaled by the 1966 animated version of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, narrated by horror film star Boris Karloff. The humorous A Christmas Story (1983) in which the main character dreams of owning a Red Ryder BB Gun, has slowly become a holiday classic in the USA after receiving indifferent reviews, and is even repeated for 24 hours straight starting on Christmas Eve night and going on through Christmas Day on US cable channel Turner Network Television or TBS.

On British Television it has become traditional for Channel 4 to show the animated film of Raymond Briggs's The Snowman.

A few true stories have also become enduring Christmas tales themselves. The famous newspaper editorial, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus is among the most well-known of these.

Radio and television programs aggressively pursue entertainment and ratings through their cultivation of Christmas themes. Radio stations broadcast carols and Christmas songs, including classical music such as the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. Among other classical pieces inspired by Christmas are the Nutcracker Suite, adapted from Tchaikovsky's ballet score, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Television networks add Christmas themes to their standard programming, run traditional holiday movies, and produce a variety of Christmas specials.

In Britain, it has always been a big occasion about finding out the Official Chart number 1 for over the Christmas period. For the months before Christmas, speculation surrounds this event with many artists releasing albums or songs to have a chance at getting that priceless title of 'Christmas *year* Official Number One'. It is so huge, that bets are taken on the lucky song.

Another important tradition in Britain and in other countries in the Commonwealth Realm, is the Royal Christmas Message which is delivered by Queen Elizabeth II at 3 pm (15:00 GMT) on Christmas day. The 2006 Christmas message was watched by 68% of the British residents.

See also

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References

  1. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Church, Oxford University Press, London (1977), p. 280.
  2. ^ a b c d "Christmas", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
  3. ^ "The Christmas Season" The Voice, CRI/Voice, Institute, 2006.
  4. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  5. ^ ""Christmas - An Ancient Holiday", The History Channel, 2007.
  6. ^ ""Saturnalia", The History Channel, 2007.
  7. ^ ""Christmas - An Ancient Holiday", The History Channel, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Christmas, Encyclopædia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.
  9. ^ "The Feast of the Annunciation", Catholic Encyclopedia, 1998.
  10. ^ Origen, "Levit., Hom. VIII"; Migne P.G., XII, 495; quoted by Natal Day The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911
  11. ^ This document was prepared privately for a Roman aristocrat and is named after an artist who illuminated part of it. The reference to Christmas states, "VIII kal. ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ". It is in a section based on an earlier manuscript produced in 336.
  12. ^ Pokhilko, Hieromonk Nicholas, "The Formation of Epiphany according to Different Traditions
  13. ^ a b c d e f Murray, Alexander, "Medieval Christmas", History Today, December 1986, 36 (12), pp. 31 - 39.
  14. ^ a b McGreevy, Patrick. "Place in the American Christmas," (JSTOR), Geographical Review, Vol. 80, No. 1. January 1990, pp. 32-42. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  15. ^ Durston, Chris, "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642-60", History Today, December 1985, 35 (12) pp. 7 - 14.
  16. ^ Andrews, Peter (1975). Christmas in Colonial and Early America. USA: World Book Encyclopedia, Inc. ISBN 7-166-2001-4. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Rowell, Geoffrey, "Dickens and the Construction of Christmas", History Today, December 1993, 43 (12), pp. 17 - 24.
  18. ^ Moore's poem transferred the genuine old Dutch traditions celebrated at New Year in New York, including the exchange of gifts, family feasting, and tales of “sinterklass” (a derivation in Dutch from “Saint Nicholas,” from whence comes the modern “Santa Claus”) to Christmas.The history of Christmas: Christmas history in America, 2006
  19. ^ usinfo.state.gov “Americans Celebrate Christmas in Diverse Ways”November 26, 2006
  20. ^ First Presbyterian Church of Watertown “Oh . . . and one more thing”December 11, 2005
  21. ^ Baker, Chris, The Christmas Truce of 1914, 1996
  22. ^ usinfo.state.gov “Americans Celebrate Christmas in Diverse Ways”November 26, 2006
  23. ^ New York Times “This Season's War Cry: Commercialize Christmas, or Else ”December 4, 2005
  24. ^ Lynch vs. Donnelly (1984)
  25. ^ Ganulin v. United States (1999)
  26. ^ Cohen, Adam. "This season's war cry: Commercialize Christmas, or else." The New York Times, December 5 2005.
  27. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara and David P., "The Claus That Refreshes", Snopes.com, 2006.
  28. ^ a b Harper, Douglas, Christ, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001.
  29. ^ Santa: The First Great Lie, essay by Mariane Matera, Citybeat issue 304
  30. ^ Robinson, B.A. "All about the Christmas tree: Pagan origins, Christian adaptation, & secular status" ReligiousTolerance.Org, December 13 2003.
  31. ^ a b van Renterghem, Tony. When Santa was a shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995. ISBN 1-56718-765-X
  32. ^ The Christmas Tree Custom
  33. ^ Morris, Desmond. Christmas Watching. London: Mackays of Chatham, 1992. ISBN 0-224-03598-3
  34. ^ Murray, Brian. "Christmas lights and community building in America," History Matters, Spring 2006.
  35. ^ Varga, Melody. "Black Friday, About:Retail Industry.
  36. ^ "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas", American Economic Review, December 1993, 83 (5)
  37. ^ "Is Santa a deadweight loss?" The Economist 20 December 2001
  38. ^ Reuters. "Christmas is Damaging the Environment, Report Says" December 16 2005.

Further reading

  • "Christmas," The New Columbia Encyclopedia. New York and London, Columbia University Press 1975.
  • Restad, Penne L., Christmas in America: A History, New York, Oxford University Press. 1995. ISBN 0-19-509300-3

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