Christmass

Christmas

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Origin and development
• Contemporary customs in the West
• Contemporary customs in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy
• Contemporary customs in other areas

Christmas, Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. The English term Christmas (“mass on Christ’s day”) is of fairly recent origin. The earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanicjōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of thewinter solstice. The corresponding terms in other languages—Navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian, Noël in French—all probably denote nativity. The German word Weihnachten denotes “hallowed night.” Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also been a secular family holiday, observed by Christians and non-Christians alike, devoid of Christian elements, and marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure named Santa Claus plays the pivotal role.

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