Christmas is a big holiday for Western culture and Christian communities. Christmas (Noel, Christmas’s Day or X-mas) is the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
In which country does Christmas originate?
Christmas holiday originated with Christians, to celebrate the birth of their religious leader, whom they consider God to have come to earth.
According to most Christians, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the Jewish land of Judea (today a city of Palestine), then part of the Roman Empire, around the middle of 7 B.C.E. and year 2. At that time, Judea was under the rule of the Roman Empire.
The story of the birth of Jesus is described in the New Testament as follows: In Nazareth, the virgin Mary was engaged to the carpenter Joseph. They are all descendants of King David, the great king of the Jews. One day, the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary, saying, “You will be given a son named Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. God will give him the throne of God. David your ancestor. You will reign over the house of Israel forever, and your kingdom will have no end.”
Mary told Joseph everything, she became pregnant even though she was still a virgin. Joseph was wondering, the angel of the Lord also appeared in a dream about God’s favor, so he stopped worrying and married Mary.
In which country does Christmas originate?
One day, the couple set off to the inn of Bethlehem, 110 km away, to register their names on the tax list ordered by the Roman emperor Augustus. When they arrived, the inns were full, Joseph had to take his wife to rest. in a barn. At midnight, Mary gave birth to Jesus here. Joseph found a wooden feeding trough for the animals, cleaned it well, and lined it with hay to make a cradle for the newborn baby. At that time in the pasture only the shepherds were awake. Suddenly a bright light spread across the sky, and an angel appeared to them and announced the great good news: “Today in the city of David is born a Savior for all, he is the Christ. You will find him. , a baby wrapped in diapers, lying in a manger.”
The shepherds, according to the word, found the baby Jesus in a manger in a stable. They told Mary and Joseph everything they had encountered in the field. When they left, their hearts were still full of excitement, and when they met everyone, they told them about the strange things they had seen that night.
Although the date of Jesus’ birth is unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed his birth date as December 25, corresponding to the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.
Christmas is officially celebrated on December 25, but is usually celebrated from the evening of December 24 because according to the Jewish calendar, the beginning of the day is at sunset, not midnight. The official December 25th ceremony is called the “main day ceremony”, and the December 24 night ceremony is called the “vespers” and usually attracts more people.
On the night of the “Valve”, all places such as churches or every household decorate the cave with a manger, inside there is a statue of the Child Jesus, the statue of the Virgin Mary. Around there are donkeys, statues of the Three Kings, some angels, Saint Jesus…
In the past, Christmas was meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. But now, in addition to the Christian meaning, Christmas is also a big holiday for families, a special day for everyone to gather, gather and gather together.
Over time, today Christmas has become an international holiday and is better known for the image of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus.
Origin of “Merry Christmas”
The word Christ is the title of Jesus. The word Mas stands for Mass – Mass). When the words Christ and Mas are written, it becomes the word Christmas. Christmas means the feast day of the Nativity of Jesus. The words Christmas and Xmas both have the same meaning, Xmas also means the feast of Christ.
Although Christmas celebrations began in the 4th century AD, it was not until 1699 that the expression “Merry Christmas” was used.
The word “Merry” itself means joy, sowing in our hearts a joy, a warm feeling of happiness because it is associated with the Christmas holiday. The most common way to say it is “Merry Christmas” – Wishing you a merry and happy Christmas!
Origin of “Merry Christmas”
Some people use the word “Happy” instead of “Merry” to wish each other on Christmas. The phrase “Happy Christmas” became popular around the world in the 19th century when it was used by Queen Elizabeth II herself.
Sometimes to shorten, many people use the word Xmas instead of Christmas. However, it must be affirmed that, there is no phrase or expression as popular as the phrase “Merry Christmas”.
Along with that, the birth of the famous song “We wish you a Merry Christmas” made this phrase even more popular and widely used.
In 1843, when printing technology began to develop, people printed the phrase “Merry Christmas” on the first printed Christmas card. Since then, “Merry Christmas” has been used as a catchphrase whenever they want to give each other Merry Christmas wishes.
Source: Synthesis