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1、更多资料欢迎光临中国游论坛http:/ also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 or January 7 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. Modern customs of the holiday include giftg
2、iving, Church celebrations, and the display of various decorationsincluding the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figureoften associated with bri
3、nging gifts at Christmas for children. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology,and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19thcentury media. Christmas is celebrated throughout the
4、Christian population, butis also celebrated by many nonChristians as a secular, cultural festival. 1. EtymologyThe word Christmas originated as a compound meaning “Christs Mass”. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes m?sse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. “Crist
5、es”is from Greek Christos and “m?sse”is from Latin missa. In Greek, the letter (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid16th century. Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.2. HistoryFor
6、many centuries, Christian writers accepted that Christmas was the actual date on which Jesus was born. 2.1 Winter FestivalsMosaic of Jesus as Christo Sole (Christ the Sun) in Mausoleum M in the prefourthcentury necropolis under St Peters Basilica in Rome. Christians consider Jesus to be the “sun of
7、righteousness”prophesied in Malachi 4:2. A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached. Modern Christmas customs
8、include: giftgiving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts. 2.2 Patristic DevelopmentsThe New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Jesus. Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote
9、that a group in Egyptcelebrated the nativity on Pachon 25. This corresponds to May 20. Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. In Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on
10、 the spring equinox. The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December. De Pascha Computus, a calendar of feasts produced in 243, gives March 28 as the date of the nativity. In 245, the theologian Origen of Alexandria stated that, “only sinners (like Pharaoh and Her
11、od)”celebrated their birthdays. In 303, Christian writer Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, which suggests that Christmas was not yet a feast at this time.2.3 Feast EstablishedThe earliest reference to the celebration of the nativity on December 25 is found in the Chro
12、nography of 354. In the East, early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus. Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the proArian Emperor Valens
13、 at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.2.4 Middle AgesIn the Early Middle Ages, Chris
14、tmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmasrelated holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the “forty days of St. Martin”(which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now kn
15、own as Advent. In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. The prominence of
16、Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christ
