Christmas

Christmas

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christians believe that he is Christ,
the Son of God. Christmas means "Feast day of Christ". However, it is not pronounced as Christ Mass;
it is pronounced Kriss-muhss.

The day known as Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th of December (This date is different for
Orthodox Christians). Christmas is one of the holiest times of the year, when it is believed by Christians
that God sent Jesus to be born and to live among people and to save sinners from a life apart from God.
The other important Christian Holy Days are at Easter when the death and resurrection of Jesus are
celebrated. The season of Christmas begins on a Sunday, about four weeks before Christmas Day
and is called Advent. It ends on January 6, known as the Epiphany or the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated by Christian people all over the world, and is also kept as a time of celebration
by many people who are not Christian but enjoy the traditions. The traditions are different from country
to country, but they nearly always include a feast, giving gifts or cards, and enjoying church or public
festivities such as singing Christmas songs.

Christmastime, as it is often called, is in the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, at a time when
there were already ancient festivals. Some of the traditions that are used for Christmas are older
than Christmas, or come from other non-Christian traditions such as Yule. Other festivals at this time
of year include Jewish Hanukkah.

Modern traditions of Christmas often focus on the giving of gifts. Stores use this time of year to sell
a lot of goods, and so start advertising for "Holiday Season" shopping for at least a month before
Christmas, often showing a Santa Claus.

Information and Picture from Simple.Wikipedia.org