Christmas

Introduction: The word “Christmas” means “Feast day of Christ”. It is mainly a Christian religious holiday.

Christmas (also Christmas Day) is one of the sacred religious festivals, that Christians celebrate with enthusiasm and joy all over the world on 25th December every year.

Duration: Though the festival of Christmas falls on the exact day (25th December), the duration of celebration varies from country to country. In some countries, people celebrate the festival for around 12 days. This season consisting of 12 days is mostly followed by Christian churches and this period is also as “Christmas season”, “Christmas time”, and “Christmastide”.

Significance: This festival is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ.  Christians, all over the world, believe that Jesus Christ to be the son of God. The non-Christians observe this day as a cultural holiday.

On Christmas Eve, a celebration ceremony is held at midnight. People belonging to Christian faith gather together in groups to sing carols and play musical instruments.

Cultural harmony: The celebration of Christmas is very special for both Christians and Non-Christians. The religious occasion of Christmas brings promotes cultural harmony between the Christian and Non-Christian people around the globe. People belonging to diverse faith participate to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. They exchange sweets, chocolates, cakes and gifts among friends, family and loved ones.

Myth: There is also a myth that a man named Santa Claus will appear on the day of Christmas to distribute gifts and presents to the children.

Popularity: This is one of the oldest festivals that is still popular among the masses.

Charity: On this special day, many people engage themselves performing various charitable tasks. They visit the old-age homes, homeless centers, and orphanages and spend time with the  care centers as Christ also did it when he was on Earth.

Shopping: This season remains prosperous for retail shopkeepers. During the festive season of Christmas people do massive shopping. So, on this season, retail stores of sweets, decorations, lights, cakes, trees, clothes, etc. witnesses a boost.

Symbol: This special day is symbolized mainly with the help of Christmas tree. They also visit the Church and lit the candles.

Christmas decoration: People decorate their house with lights and lit it up. People also decorate their homes with one of those trees and place the gifts under the tree.

Boxing day: The gifts are opened on the very next day, i.e., 26th December, which is also termed as the Boxing Day.

Also read about Christmas at Wikipedia.