|
A Guide to Search Results for "Christmas" help - feedback - sponsor this guide
"Christmas" is a religious holiday which celebrates the nativity of Jesus
Christ. However, a number of other religious traditions have been integrated into the Christian
holiday. Moreover, secular Christmas celebrations have all but eclipsed the religious
significance of the holiday. Indeed, the traditional greeting of "Merry Christmas" has been
more or less supplanted by the non-denominational "Seasons Greetings" or the even more
politically correct "Happy Holidays." The Christmas season, also known as the Twelve Days of Christmas, is defined by the calendar
of the Christian Church. It begins at sundown on December 24th and lasts through sundown on
January 5th. The calendar dates for Christmas and Epiphany are the same in the eastern and
western Church, but many eastern Christians still use the unreformed Julian calendar which is
thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar. There are many theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, but the
celebration of Christmas probably does not coincide with the actual date of Christ's
birth. It is much more likely that this date was chosen because of its significance to pagan
religious traditions in early Rome which took place around the time of the Winter solstice.
Lost in the shuffle was the religious significance of Christmas for Christians, the Incarnation
of God as a human being who could vicariously atone for the sins of humanity.
Sponsored Link:
© Copyright 2002 through 2004 by XODP Search Solutions™
All rights reserved. | ||
 |