How old is christmas day

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early s. As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards and gift-giving.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around A. Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, becoming known as the protector of children and sailors.

The iconic version of Santa Claus as a jolly man in red with a white beard and a sack of toys was immortalized in , when political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the image of Old Saint Nick we know today. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees first brought to America in the s.

Discover the history of the Christmas tree, from the earliest winter Christmas traditions around the world are diverse, but share key traits that often involve themes of light, evergreens and hope. Probably the most celebrated holiday in the world, our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions Long before there was a Grinch who stole Christmas, there was Krampus, the devilish half-man, half-goat that helps out jolly St.

Nicholas by stuffing naughty Austrian children in sacks and dragging them to hell. Yes, the true history of Christmas is as colorful Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red who brings toys to good girls and boys on Christmas Eve, but his story stretches all the way back to the 3rd The War on Christmas begins around the same time each year, when stores start peddling plastic Christmas trees and giant Santa Claus inflatables.

Depending on which media talking head is speaking, the war is either a subversive effort by left-wing liberals to erase all traces of The pious Puritans who sailed from England in to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony brought with them something that might seem surprising for a group of devout Christians—contempt for Christmas.

In a reversal of modern practices, the Puritans kept their shops and schools Some date back to 16th-century Germany or even ancient But during the Third Reich, you were more likely to hear a hymn called Exalted Night instead of one about a silent night. John Even though it didn't become an official holiday until the 4th century, some Christians were celebrating the nativity on December 25th in the s - which is before the Roman holiday of Sol Invictus existed.

And they believed in a sort of serendipity where great men were thought to be conceived and die on the same day. March 25 is the Annunciation - the day of Jesus' conception. And it is older than Christmas, and nine months before. Some other church fathers liked to equate John the Baptist's statement, "He [Jesus] must increase and I must decrease," with the light beginning to increase at Jesus' birth and beginning to decrease with John's which is 6 months before, June 24th.

As for now, few people believe that Jesus was born on December But the natural symbolism of the world's light beginning to increase while "The light shineth in the darkness" and "the true tight was coming into the world" John chapter 1 is as powerful as ever.

I think the reason that Christmas is such a huge holiday bigger than Easter is because of the natural, powerful emotional response people have to this time of year. The symbolism of the Christmas candle varies. For example: It is taken as a symbol of Jesus, the Light of the World.

It is also thought to symbolize the star over Bethlehem. In certain countries, such as Ireland and Spain, it was traditional to place candles in the window to guide the Holy Family to shelter. In medieval Europe, a large candle, called the Christmas candle, was lit and was burned until Twelfth Night; this candle tradition is still used today in certain countries, such as France, Ireland, and Denmark.

I've always heard of candles symbolizing the comming of Jesus as the Light of the World. However, this mythology parallels many others that talk about the rebirth of the sun. I don't know where they got their info, but I guess that it could be said thata child has to be guided into tje world at birth. I have never heard of Christmas candles ever serving as a beacon to guide the Christ-child but rather as a symbol for Christ's coming into the world even as a child.

This is a significant theological distinction. Where did you get your information? I thought the tradition, in Ireland at least, of a candle in the window to guide the Holy Family was well known. During times of Catholic persecution, the candle also served as a sign to any passing priest that the home was a safe place to say mass. It's not really theology, just a tradition.

Skip to main content. Christmas Traditions, Folklore, Recipes, and More. By The Editors. November 1, Related Articles Calendar Holidays. Tags Christmas When is What do you want to read next? Christmas Facts and Trivia. Christmas Firsts: The Origins of Nicholas Day Hot Cross Buns With Icing. Christmas Dessert Recipes. Natural Decorating for Christmas. The Surprising Origins of Easter More recent studies have also found that the 'Sol Invictus' connection didn't appear until the 12th century and it's from one scribbled note in the margins of a manuscript.

There's also evidence that 'Sol Invictus' might also have happened in October and not December anyway! Christmas had also been celebrated by the early Church on January 6th, when they also celebrated the Epiphany which means the revelation that Jesus was God's son and the Baptism of Jesus.

Now Epiphany mainly celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus , but back then it celebrated both things! Jesus's Baptism was originally seen as more important than his birth, as this was when he started his ministry. The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the eve of the Kislev 25 the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December. Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish people were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following many years of not being allowed to practice their religion.

Jesus was a Jew, so this could be another reason that helped the early Church choose December the 25th for the date of Christmas! The Gregorian calendar is more accurate than the Roman calendar which had too many days in a year! When the switch was made 10 days were lost, so that the day that followed the 4th October was 15th October In the UK the change of calendars was made in The day after 2nd September was 14th September Many Orthodox and Coptic Churches still use the Julian Calendar and so celebrate Christmas on the 7th January which is when December 25th would have been on the Julian calendar.

And the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates it on the 6th January! In some part of the UK, January 6th is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the day that Christmas would have celebrated on, if the calendar hadn't been changed. Some people didn't want to use the new calendar as they thought it 'cheated' them out of 11 days! Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so the early Christians thought that this was the right time to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

They also took over some of the customs from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian meanings, like Holly , Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols! St Augustine of Canterbury was the person who probably started the widespread celebration of Christmas in large parts of England by introducing Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century other Celtic parts of Britain were already Christian but there aren't many documents about if or how they celebrated the birth of Jesus.

If you'd like to know more about the history behind the dating of Christmas, then read this very good article on Bible History Daily goes to another site. There's a strong and practical reason why Jesus might not have been born in the winter, but in the spring or the autumn! It can get very cold in the winter and it's unlikely that the shepherds would have been keeping sheep out on the hills as those hills can get quite a lot of snow sometimes!

During the spring in March or April there's a Jewish festival called 'Passover'. This festival remembers when the Jews had escaped from slavery in Egypt about years before Jesus was born. Lots of lambs would have been needed during the Passover Festival, to be sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jews from all over the Roman Empire traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, so it would have been a good time for the Romans to take a census. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem for the census Bethlehem is about six miles from Jerusalem.