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• The true meaning of Christmas is centered today around the birth of the Christ child. History shows that ancient pagan civilizations celebrated their winter solstice on and around December 25. When the Christian church began to attract converts, they centered many of their holiday celebrations around the pagan dates so the converts would be able to easily associate the holidays with their prior traditions.

• Fast Facts

  1. Christmas Day is December 25
  2. Christmas 2008 falls on a Thursday
  3. Many non-Christian families celebrate the Christmas holiday with an emphasis on the giving of gifts
  4. Fourth century: Church officials designate Jesus' birthday as a holidayCatholic Encyclopedia: Christmas
  5. Jesus' date of birth isn't listed in the Bible, so Pope Julius I designated December 25 as the day of celebrationCatholic Encyclopedia: Christmas
  6. June 26, 1870: Christmas designated an official United States holidayAmerica.gov: An Overview of U.S. Holidays
  7. Saturnalia, Mithras and Yule are some of the holidays once celebrated around the date of Christmas

• The Nativity Story

  The Angel Gabriel appeared to a young virgin by the name of Mary, who was engaged to marry a man named Joseph. The angel told Mary that she was going to become pregnant with the son of God. Joseph set out with Mary during the late months of her pregnancy to the town of Bethlehem to register with the census issued by Caesar Augustus. While they were in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, but they could find no inn to house them. The last inn they stopped at offered them the stable, and there amidst the animals, Mary gave birth. She wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger.Parents for Christ: The Story of the Birth of Christ

  
  

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Christmas | Baby Jesus | Nativity Scenes | Jesus of Nazareth | Christmas History | Christmas Traditions | Winter Solstice | Advent | Catholicism | Christianity | Santa Claus | Yule Log | Paganism | Christmas Star | Christian Christmas Poems | Christmas Sermons | War on Christmas

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