Almost the whole of the world celebrates Christmas commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
The word 'Christmas' originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English 'Christemasse' and Old English 'Cristes maesse'. "Cristes" is from Greek Christos and "maesse" is from Latin missa. In Greek, the letter ? is the first letter of Christ, and it has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Hence, X-mas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.
The two different books of the Bible , Matthew and Luke narrates the story of birth of the son of God.
Jesus was born to Mary who was unbelievably a virgin mother,an angel told her she would bear a special baby. Joseph her husband did not believe that but an angel told him everything in his dream. Both Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register their names under the ruling Roman government. They did not find any proper place to stay so they took shelter in a stable. Jesus was born that night, and as they had no bed for Him, they used an animal feeding box filled with the dry grass the animals ate. Jesus started His life on earth in a place filled with dirt and filth. At that time shepherds were looked down upon. The birth of Jesus was a message to them that their saviour had come to save therm from evil and ill happenings. After Jesus was born,three wise men came to look for Him and brought valuable gifts, Gold - a gift for king, Frankincense - a resin which burns with a beautiful smell and used for the worship of God and Myrrh - a sign of mortal human-ness,used to bury the dead.
Christiand believe that whatever happened just symbolizes Jesus' coming as a humble, poor person and not as a strong, rich king. It is also believd that Jesus Christ is 'the man born to die'. He came to this earth for the well being of human being and their salvation. To save them from evil and sin and show the way of honesty and purity. Jesus came to this world for love and spread love.
In the West today, the real meaning of Christmas is often forgotten. It has become a non-religious holiday! More children believe in Father Christmas than in Jesus. Christmas Day is a time for eating and drinking too much and watching television.
father of Christmas is commonly known as Santa Claus. The word comes from the Dutch word 'Sinterklaas'. St.Nicholas explained him as Santa Claus. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This explained the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.
Preparation for Christmas celebrations begin one month before the actual day. People decorate their homes with beautiful christmas trees and poisettias. The decoration of Christmas tree is a fun to children and also to their families. people attend the carols and prayers, the traditional customs of Christmas that take places in the Churches and celebrate the day enjoying and having fun with beloved ones.