CHRISTES
MASSE:
History of ChristmasCopyright © 2003 by Gene Brooks Home
CHRISTES
MASSE:
History of Christmas
Adeste
fideles, laeti triumphantes;
CHRISTMAS COMMENTS
CHRISTMAS comes from the early English phrase
CHRISTES MASSE, which means CHRIST'S MASS.
Christopher
Columbus, after
arriving in America in 1492, celebrated Christmas with an Indian chief
who ruled Haiti. He built a small fortress there and named it La
Navidad--the
Nativity.
Christmas cards
were introduced in England in the 1840's. One
of the first Christmas cards carried the still popular caption, "A
Merry
Christmas, and Happy New Year."
Xmas originated in the early Christian Church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. People in Ireland leave a candle burning in the window to light the way for the Christ Child on Christmas Eve.
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS
Although scholars do not know exactly when Jesus Christ was born,
Bishop
Liberius of Rome, in 354 AD, ordered the people to celebrate Jesus'
Birthday
on December 25.
December 25 was the
day the Feast of Saturn, birthday of
the sun, was celebrated. But Christians celebrated the birthday of the
Son--the Light of the World.
For many years,
Christ's birthday was a religious
celebration only, but eventually people began to adopt customs
unrelated
to the Saviour's birth. English merriment caused the day to become so
rowdy
the Puritans did away with the observance of Christmas by law in 1643.
New Englanders
copied the English lawbooks, and the Massachusetts Bay and
New Haven colonies' blue laws even outlawed mince-meat pies.
Christmas
is a time for friends and family, for giving, and for loving others all
in the celebration of the world's greatest event-- that event which
changed
the course of all human history--The
Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour
of Mankind.
Belgium:
Zalig Kerstfeest
Russia:
S Rozhdestvom Khristovym
South America: Feliz Navidad
Canada and USA:
Merry Christmas
France:
Joyeux Noel
China:
Sheng Tan Kuai Loh
Germany:
Froehliche Weihnachten
Norway: Gledelig Jul