Christmas festival celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, a person sent from Heaven to make amends for sins of men.
Christmas Day is regarded as the day of birth of Jesus, though the fixing of this date to His birth is through backtracking in history. The Western Christian Church adopted the date as 25th December and it has since been accepted. But it is believed that Jesus was born between 7 and 2 BC. Even now there is a difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendar. In Armenia and Ethiopia, Christmas falls on 7th of January.
As the tradition goes, Mary and Joseph were betrothed and Mary conceived Jesus through divine methods. After marriage, the couple proceeded to Bethlehem, at the order of the Roman Emperor. They could not find a place to stay and Jesus wxas born in a manger. The shepherds and nearby villagers were the first to see the Holy Infant. Later, the Magi, guided by a star, came to worship the Baby Jesus.
Jesus blossomed into a young man with followers or disciples. He performed miracles and told parables to his followers to instil morals in the people. Finally He was betrayed by Judas and was crucified.
The celebration of Christmas slowly spread from 4th century onwards and in the pre Renaissance period, it spread across Europe.
Christianity and Christmas festivities started in India when Europeans landed in India for trade. The Europeans slowly converted the natives to Christianity and the religion spread in India and the neighbouring countries.
The USA, being a vast country, Christmas celebrations have become imbued with customs, traditions and legends from other cultures. In the USA, Christmas may be in blistering cold weather amid snow storms or warm sunny weather.
Wherever it is celebrated, Christmas brings tidings of love, joy and happiness.
