25 dating 35

Dating > 25 dating 35

Click here: ※ 25 dating 35 ※ ♥ 25 dating 35

Nang magkagayo'y nagsipagbangong lahat ang mga dalagang yaon, at pinagigi ang kanilang mga ilawan. While one team member held the serving tray steady with one hand, the other would ceremonially pour the tea into two cups at once, making sure to lift the kettles up to a particular height. It is a memorial, a remembrance, of the birth of Jesus, not really a celebration of the day itself.

The tractate De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, falsely attributed toalso argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of 25 dating 35 year and responsible this as March 25. In England, gifts were exchanged onand there was special Christmas ale. The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. So be sure to check the date of expiration of the coupon you want to use. Inthe of New Hiroshima shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Girls 25 dating 35 seated and the guys move to the next table until you have met everyone. King directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old-style Christmas generosity. After her print to her German cousinby 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain. Under the of the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other Christian holidays—were prohibited in public. Relationship rumors resurfaced last week when Priyanka and the youngest Jonas brother were seen hanging out around LA several too in a row. May 10, 2013, at the. Feel free to mingle at the bar whilst waiting for everyone to arrive.

Retrieved September 19, 2014. Solstice date December 25 was the date of the on the Roman calendar. A match occurs when a person you want to meet also wants to meet you again.

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra flirt up a storm online again - In Catch, teams had to wade into Manila Bay to a offshore. Kampen, Netherlands: Kok Pharos.

A of the with a backdrop Also called Noël, , , Observed by , many non-Christians Type , cultural Significance Commemoration of the Celebrations Gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, feasting etc. A central to the , it is preceded by the season of or the and initiates the season of , which historically in the West lasts and culminates on ; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an. Christmas Day is a public in , is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the centered around it. The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the says that Jesus was born in , in accordance with. When and arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a where the was soon born, with proclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information. Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid fourth century the had placed Christmas on December 25, a date that was later adopted in the East. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the , which has been adopted almost universally in the used in countries throughout the world. However, some celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older , which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar, the day after the Western Christian Church celebrates the. This is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Moreover, for Christians, the belief that came into the world in the to for the of humanity, rather than the exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of , Christian, and themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include , completing an or , and , lighting a , viewing a , an exchange of , , a , and the display of various , including , , , , , , and. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as , , , and , are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. It is derived from the Cristemasse, which is from Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038 followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131. In Old English, Gēola referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas. Gospel according to Saint Luke Chapter 2, v 1—20 The of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger. It says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the. Adoration of the Shepherds 1622 by depicts the nativity of The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels and early Christian writers suggested various dates for the anniversary. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century. In the early Middle Ages, it was overshadowed by. The feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day. Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehavior, the Puritans banned Christmas in the 17th century. It was restored as a legal holiday in 1660, but remained disreputable. In the early 19th century, Christmas was revived with the start of the in the Anglican Church. Choice of December 25 date In the 3rd century, the date of birth of Jesus was the subject of both great interest and great uncertainty. Various factors contributed to the selection of December 25 as a date of celebration: it was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar; it was about nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox and a date linked to the conception of Jesus. Solstice date December 25 was the date of the on the Roman calendar. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us up chose the shortest day, yet the one whence light begins to increase. An anonymous work known as De Pascha Computus 243 linked the idea that creation began at the spring equinox, on March 25, with the conception or birth the word nascor can mean either of Jesus on March 28, the day of the creation of the sun in the Genesis account. In the 17th century, argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the solstice. Modern scholars refer to this feast as the Quartodecimal. Christmas was then calculated as nine months later. The Calculation hypothesis was proposed by French writer in 1889. In modern times, March 25 is celebrated as. This holiday was created in the seventh century and was assigned to a date that is nine months before Christmas, in addition to being the traditional date of the equinox. It is unrelated to the Quartodecimal, which had been forgotten by this time. Early Christians celebrated the life of Jesus on a date considered equivalent to 14 Nisan Passover on the local calendar. Because Passover was held on the 14th of the month, this feast is referred to as the Quartodecimal. All the major events of Christ's life, especially the passion, were celebrated on this date. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Passover, presumably celebrated according to the local calendar in Corinth. The date of the passion was moved to Good Friday in 165 when created Easter by reassigning the Resurrection to a Sunday. According to the Calculation hypothesis, celebration of the quartodecimal continued in some areas and the feast became associated with Incarnation. It was a traditional Jewish belief that great men lived a whole number of years, without fractions, so that Jesus was considered to have been conceived on March 25, as he died on March 25, which was calculated to have coincided with 14 Nisan. A passage in Commentary on the Prophet Daniel 204 by identifies December 25 as the date of the nativity. This passage is generally considered a late interpellation. But the manuscript includes another passage, one that is more likely to be authentic, that gives the passion as March 25. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. As this implies a birth in December, it is sometimes claimed to be the earliest identification of December 25 as the nativity. However, Africanus was not such an influential writer that it is likely he determined the date of Christmas. The tractate De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, falsely attributed to , also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as March 25. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice. This feast was established by Aurelian in 274. An explicit expression of this theory appears in an annotation of uncertain date added to a manuscript of a work by 12th-century Syrian bishop. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day. It has been argued that, on the contrary, the Emperor , who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome. Hermann Usener and others proposed that the Christians chose this day because it was the Roman feast celebrating the birthday of Sol Invictus. Talley holds that the Roman Emperor placed a festival of Sol Invictus on December 25 in order to compete with the growing rate of the Christian Church, which had already been celebrating Christmas on that date first. In the judgement of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, the History of Religions hypothesis has been challenged by a view based on an old tradition, according to which the date of Christmas was fixed at nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, on which the was celebrated. Introduction of feast As Christmas was unknown to the early Christian writers, it must have been introduced sometime after 300. In 245, , writing about , commented that Scripture mentions only sinners as celebrating their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker hanged , and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded , and mentions saints as cursing the day of their birth, namely Jeremiah and Job. In 303, still ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration. The earliest known Christmas celebration is recorded in a. This manuscript is thought to record a celebration that occurred in 336. It was prepared privately for , a Roman aristocrat, in 354. The document also contains the earliest known reference to the feast of Sol Invictus. The fact the of North Africa celebrated Christmas suggests that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311. In the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with the on January 6, which however emphasized celebration of the. Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of following the death of the pro- Emperor at the in 378. The feast was introduced at in 379, in by towards the end of the fourth century, probably in 388, and in only in the following century. The feast disappeared after resigned as in 381, although it was reintroduced by in about 400. Even in the West, January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380. Relation to concurrent celebrations Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later. These elements, including the from Yule and gift giving from , became into Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, -like state in the , to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century transformation. In fact, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain groups, such as the , due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical. Mosaic of Jesus as Christus Sol Christ the Sun in Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under in Rome. Prior to and through the centuries, —especially those centered on the —were the most popular of the year in many European pagan cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needed to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached. The Egyptian deity , son to goddess , was celebrated at the winter solstice. Horus was often depicted being fed by his mother, which also influenced the symbolism of. The pre-Christian —including the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse—celebrated a winter festival called , held in the late December to early January period, yielding modern English yule, today used as a synonym for Christmas. In Germanic language-speaking areas, numerous elements of modern Christmas folk custom and iconography stem from Yule, including the , , and the. In eastern Europe also, old pagan traditions were incorporated into Christmas celebrations, an example being the , which was incorporated into the. Post-classical history The Nativity, from a 14th-century ; a liturgical book containing texts and music necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year In the , Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in focused on the visit of the. But the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. In Italy, former traditions were attached to Advent. Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the December 25 — January 5 ; a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. The coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas of 800 helped promote the popularity of the holiday By the , the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various celebrated Christmas. The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form. In England, gifts were exchanged on , and there was special Christmas ale. Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated , , and other evergreens. Christmas during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord. The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, and card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques, and pageants. In 1607, insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games. It was during the in 16th—17th-century Europe that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the or , and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. Modern history 18th century Public notice in issued by the deeming Christmas illegal and sacrilegious Following the , many of the new denominations, including the and , continued to celebrate Christmas. In 1629, the Anglican poet penned , a poem that has since been read by many during Christmastide. The calendar reform became a major point of tension between the Anglican party and the Puritan party. King directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old-style Christmas generosity. Following the victory over Charles I during the , England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647. Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with and shouted slogans. The Examination and Trial of , 1686 , published after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England The of in 1660 ended the ban, but many Calvinist clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. As such, in Scotland, the Presbyterian discouraged the observance of Christmas, and though commanded its celebration in 1618, was scant. It was not until 1958 that Christmas again became a Scottish public holiday. In , the of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World working — thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day. Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England. Christmas observance was outlawed in in 1659. The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by English governor , however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region. At the same time, Christian residents of and observed the holiday freely. Settlers, pre-eminently the settlers of , and in Pennsylvania and the Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes. Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the , when it was considered an English custom. From ' , 1843. In the UK, Christmas Day became a in 1834, Boxing Day was added in 1871. In the early-19th century, writers imagined Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion. A prominent phrase from the tale, , was popularized following the appearance of the story. This coincided with the appearance of the and the growth of , which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances. The Queen's Christmas tree at , published in the Illustrated London News, 1848, and republished in , Philadelphia, December 1850 The term became a synonym for , with dismissive of the festive spirit. In 1843, the first commercial was produced by. In Britain, the was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the by , wife of. In 1832, the future wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with , , and placed round it. After her marriage to her German cousin , by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain. An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created a sensation when it was published in the in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850. By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in , Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned, and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas 1652 of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories. The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance. This also started the cultural conflict between the holiday's spiritual significance and its associated that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book The First Christmas in New England, includes a character who complains that was lost in a shopping spree. While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U. By 1860, fourteen states including several from had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday. In 1875, introduced the to Americans. On June 28, 1870, Christmas was formally declared a. The mass of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later became general. Christmas dinner might be beef—certainly not turkey. In their stockings children might get an apple, orange, and sweets. Full celebration of a family Christmas with all the trimmings only became widespread with increased prosperity from the 1950s. National papers were published on Christmas Day until 1912. Post was still delivered on Christmas Day until 1961. League football matches continued in Scotland until the 1970s while in England they ceased at the end of the 1950s. Under the of the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other Christian holidays—were prohibited in public. During the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, the encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on as a protest against the holiday. It was not until the in 1991 that the ended and Orthodox Christmas became a state holiday again for the first time in Russia after seven decades. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration e. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees. Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China excepting Hong Kong and , the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. Christmas celebrations around the world can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions. Among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures. For Christians, participating in a religious service plays an important part in the recognition of the season. Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance. A 2010 survey by found that 47% of American households attend church services during this time. In the United Kingdom, the Church of England reported an estimated attendance of 2. In countries, people hold religious processions or in the days preceding Christmas. In other countries, secular processions or parades featuring Santa Claus and other seasonal figures are often held. Family reunions and the exchange of gifts are a widespread feature of the season. Gift-giving takes place on Christmas Day in most countries. Others practice gift giving on , and January 6,. Decorations A typical presepe or presepio, or Nativity scene. Local crèches are renowned for their ornate decorations and symbolic figurines, often mirroring daily life. The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. The heart-shaped leaves of were said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, while was seen as protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries held to represent the worn by Jesus at the crucifixion and the blood he shed. Clifton Mill in is the site of this Christmas display with over 3. Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. They were popularised by Saint from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe. Different types of decorations developed across the Christian world, dependent on local tradition and available resources, and can vary from simple representations of the crib to far more elaborate sets — renowned manger scene traditions include the colourful in Poland, which imitate 's historical buildings as settings, the elaborate Italian presepi , and , or the crèches in France, using hand-painted terracotta figurines called. In certain parts of the world, notably , living nativity scenes following the tradition of Saint Francis are a popular alternative to static crèches. The first commercially produced decorations appeared in Germany in the 1860s, inspired by paper chains made by children. In countries where a representation of the is very popular, people are encouraged to compete and create the most original or realistic ones. Within some families, the pieces used to make the representation are considered a valuable family. The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are , , and. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his , while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter, and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the , symbolizing royalty. The official White House Christmas tree for 1962, displayed in the Entrance Hall and presented by and his wife. The is considered by some as of tradition and ritual surrounding the , which included the use of boughs, and an adaptation of pagan ; according to eighth-century biographer , 634—709 , who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to and pointed out a , which he stated was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century though many argue that began the tradition in the 16th century. From Germany the custom was introduced to Britain, first via , wife of , and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of. By 1841 the Christmas tree had become even more widespread throughout Britain. By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a Christmas tree. Christmas trees may be decorated with and. On Christmas, the Christ Candle in the center of the is traditionally lit in many. Since the 16th century, the , a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, , red , and. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with and foliage. The display of has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. The outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with illuminated , , and other Christmas figures. Mistletoe features prominently in European myth and folklore for example the legend of , it is an evergreen parasitic plant which grows on trees, especially apple and poplar, and turns golden when it is dried. It is customary to hang a sprig of mistletoe in the house at Christmas, and anyone standing underneath it may be kissed. Mistletoe has sticky white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it. This is probably a fertility ritual. The mistletoe berry juice resembles semen. Outdoor Christmas decoration and lighting Other traditional decorations include , , , , , and. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an , make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world. Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places. It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on , the evening of January 5. Music and carols Christmas carolers in The earliest extant specifically Christmas hymns appear in fourth-century. In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional. By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of , a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like , wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century. The 18th-century English reformer understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols. Performed by the U. Army Band Chorus Problems playing this file? Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An increasing number of seasonal holidays songs were commercially produced in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition, there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and classical music. Traditional cuisine Christmas table in Serbia A special is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions, such as , have special meals for Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In the United Kingdom and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey, goose or other large bird, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. Special desserts are also prepared, such as , , and. In Poland and other parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Sweden it is common with a special variety of , where ham, meatballs and herring play a prominent role. In Germany, France, and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham, and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world. The traditionally serve , a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after and throughout the Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional Christmas bread , in France, in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter Christmas delicacies include the German , cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges have been long associated with special Christmas foods. The finished serving is often garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg. Cards Main article: Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide cross-section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards exchanging. Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season. The content of the design might relate directly to the , with , or such as the , or a white , which can represent both the and on Earth. Other Christmas cards are more and can depict , mythical figures such as , objects directly associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated with the season, such as Christmastide activities, snow scenes and the wildlife of the northern winter. There are even humorous cards and genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as shoppers in idealized 19th-century streetscapes. Christmas gifts under a Christmas tree The exchanging of is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year for and businesses throughout the world. On Christmas, people exchange gifts based on the Christian tradition associated with , and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were given to the baby Jesus by the. Among these are , also known as derived from the for Saint Nicholas , Père Noël, and the ; or ; the ; Kris Kringle; ; ; Babbo Natale; ; and. The Scandinavian tomte also called nisse is sometimes depicted as a instead of Santa Claus. The best known of these figures today is red-dressed Santa Claus, of diverse origins. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was a 4th-century of , a city in the of , whose ruins are 3 kilometres 1. Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast day, December 6, came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts. Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the in 16th—17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including and the cartoonist 1840—1902. Following the , some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas. In 1809, the convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of , the name for. At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However, as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the modern vision of the figure, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s and continues through the present day. Santa Claus reacts to a toy request as Santa Father Christmas, a jolly, stout, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and rather than the bringing of gifts. In , his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by , or. In other versions, make the toys. His wife is referred to as. There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence. However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a book-length study in 1978; Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the on. Current tradition in several countries such as Venezuela and Colombia holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes, a reconciliation between traditional and the of Santa Claus imported from the United States. In Italy , Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland, the in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast. Nikolaus wears a 's dress and still brings small gifts usually candies, nuts, and fruits on December 6 and is accompanied by. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive. Multiple gift-giver figures exist in Poland, varying between regions and individual families. St Nicholas Święty Mikołaj dominates Central and North-East areas, the Starman Gwiazdor is most common in , Baby Jesus Dzieciątko is unique to , with the Little Star Gwiazdka and the Little Angel Aniołek being common in the South and the South-East. Grandfather Frost Dziadek Mróz is less commonly accepted in some areas of Eastern Poland. It is worth noting that across all of Poland, St Nicholas is the gift giver on the on December 6. Date according to Julian calendar Some jurisdictions of the , including those of , , , , , , and , mark feasts using the older. As of 2018, there is a difference of 13 days between the Julian calendar and the modern , which is used internationally for most secular purposes. As a result, December 25 on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the calendar used by most governments and people in everyday life. Therefore, the aforementioned Orthodox Christians mark December 25 and thus Christmas on the day that is internationally considered to be January 7. However, other Orthodox Christians, such as those belonging to the jurisdictions of , , , , , , , , , and the , among others, began using the in the early 20th century, which at present corresponds exactly to the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, these Orthodox Christians mark December 25 and thus Christmas on the same day that is internationally considered to be December 25, and which is also the date of Christmas among Western Christians. A further complication is added by the fact that the continues the original ancient practice of celebrating the birth of Christ not as a separate holiday, but on the same day as the celebration of his baptism , which is on January 6. This is a public holiday in Armenia, and it is held on the same day that is internationally considered to be January 6, because the Armenian Church in Armenia uses the Gregorian calendar. However, there is also a small , which maintains the traditional Armenian custom of celebrating the birth of Christ on the same day as Theophany January 6 , but uses the Julian calendar for the determination of that date. In summary, there are four different dates used by different Christian groups to mark the birth of Christ, given in the table below. Listing Church or section Date Calendar Gregorian date Note January 6 Julian calendar January 19 Correspondence between Julian January 6 and Gregorian January 19 holds until 2100; in the following century the difference will be one day more. December 25 Julian calendar January 7 Correspondence between Julian December 25 and Gregorian January 7 of the following year holds until 2100; from 2101 to 2199 the difference will be one day more. The uses the same calendar but, like the Coptic Church, does not make this adjustment. Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies to celebrate. In Canada, merchants begin advertising campaigns just before October 31 , and step up their marketing following Remembrance Day on November 11. In the UK and Ireland, the Christmas shopping season starts from mid-November, around the time when high street are turned on. In other sectors, the pre-Christmas increase in spending was even greater, there being a November—December buying surge of 100 percent in bookstores and 170 percent in jewelry stores. In the same year employment in American retail stores rose from 1. Industries completely dependent on Christmas include , of which 1. In the UK in 2010, up to £8 billion was expected to be spent online at Christmas, approximately a quarter of total retail festive sales. Each year most notably 2000 is increased for Christmas shopping In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity more than any other day of the year , whether laws require such or not. In , the prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. One 's analysis calculates that, despite increased overall spending, Christmas is a under orthodox , because of the effect of gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as , imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter. Further information: Christmas has at times been the subject of controversy and attacks from various sources. Historically it was prohibited by when they briefly held power in England during the 1649—1660 , and in where the Puritans outlawed the celebration of Christmas in 1659. The , which was dominated by , passed a series of acts outlawing the observance of Christmas between 1637 and 1690; Christmas Day did not become until 1958. Christmas celebrations have also been prohibited by such as the and more recently majority Muslim states such as Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei. Modern scholars such as , and consider both Gospel narratives of the birth of Jesus to be non-historical, arguing that there are contradictions between them. Many biblical scholars view the discussion of historicity as secondary, given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than historical accounts. One controversy is the occurrence of Christmas trees being renamed Holiday trees. Groups such as the have initiated court cases to bar the display of images and other material referring to Christmas from public property, including schools. Such groups argue that government-funded displays of Christmas imagery and traditions violate the , which prohibits the establishment by Congress of a national religion. In 1984, the ruled in that a Christmas display which included a Nativity scene owned and displayed by the city of , did not violate the First Amendment. In November 2009, the in Philadelphia upheld a school district's ban on the singing of Christmas carols. The declined to hear an appeal. American Muslim scholar has said that Muslims must treat Christmas with respect, even if they disagree with it. Retrieved September 30, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2012. Coptic Orthodox Church Network. Retrieved January 17, 2011. Armenian Christianity Today: Identity Politics and Popular Practice. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Armenian Churches observed the nativity on January 6 even before the Gregorian calendar originated. Most Armenian Christians use the Gregorian calendar, still celebrating Christmas Day on January 6. Some Armenian churches use the Julian calendar, thus celebrating Christmas Day on January 19 on the Gregorian calendar, with January 18 being Christmas Eve. Retrieved May 23, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2012. Christmas: A Candid History. In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days. If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then Twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself. After Christmas and Epiphany were in place, on December 25 and January 6, with the twelve days of Christmas in between, Christians slowly adopted a period called Advent, as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Christmas. Introduction to Christian Liturgy. We noted above that late medieval calendars introduced a reduced three-day octave for Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost that were retained in Roman Catholic and passed into Lutheran and Anglican calendars. Retrieved November 27, 2009. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved November 27, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009. The Christmas Encyclopedia 3 ed. Christians believe that a number of passages in the Bible are prophecies about future events in the life of the promised Messiah or Jesus Christ. Most, but not all, of those prophecies are found in the Old Testament... Parade of Faith: A Biographical History of the Christian Church. According to gospel accounts, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, thus sometime before 4 BCE. The birth narrative in Luke's gospel is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Leaving their hometown of Nazareth, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes. Arriving late, they find no vacancy at the inn. They are, however, offered a stable, most likely a second room attached to a family dwelling where animals were sheltered—a room that would offer some privacy from the main family room for cooking, eating, and sleeping. No sooner was the baby born than angels announced the news to shepherds who spread the word. Rabe, Corinna Laughlin, Jill Maria Murdy, Therese Brown, Mary Patricia Storms, Ann E. Degenhard, Jill Maria Murdy, Ann E. Degenhard, Therese Brown, Robert C. Rabe, Mary Patricia Storms, Michael R. Prendergast, , LiturgyTrainingPublications, 2010, p. Retrieved November 24, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2009. Christmas is not really about the celebration of a birth date at all. It is about the celebration of a birth. The fact of the date and the fact of the birth are two different things. The calendrical verification of the feast itself is not really that important... What is important to the understanding of a life-changing moment is that it happened, not necessarily where or when it happened. The message is clear: Christmas is not about marking the actual birth date of Jesus. It is about the Incarnation of the One who became like us in all things but sin Heb. Christmas is a pinnacle feast, yes, but it is not the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a memorial, a remembrance, of the birth of Jesus, not really a celebration of the day itself. We remember that because the Jesus of history was born, the Resurrection of the Christ of faith could happen. Retrieved April 2, 2009. The origins of the celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany, as well as the dates on which they are observed, are rooted deeply in the history of the early church. There has been much scholarly debate concerning the exact time of the year when Jesus was born, and even in what year he was born. Actually, we do not know either. The best estimate is that Jesus was probably born in the springtime, somewhere between the years of 6 and 4 BC, as December is in the middle of the cold rainy season in , when the sheep are kept inside and not on pasture as told in the Bible. The lack of a consistent system of timekeeping in the first century, mistakes in later calendars and calculations, and lack of historical details to cross reference events has led to this imprecision in fixing Jesus' birth. This suggests that the Christmas celebration is not an observance of a historical date, but a commemoration of the event in terms of worship. Retrieved April 2, 2009. Throughout the Christian world the 25th of December is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ. There was a time when the churches were not united regarding the date of the joyous event. Many Christians kept their Christmas in April, others in May, and still others at the close of September, till finally December 25 was agreed upon as the most appropriate date. The choice of that day was, of course, wholly arbitrary, for neither the exact date not the period of the year at which the birth of Christ occurred is known. For purposes of commemoration, however, it is unimportant whether the celebration shall fall or not at the precise anniversary of the joyous event. For Christians, the precise date of the birth of Jesus is actually something of a non-issue. What really matters is that he was born as a human being, and entered into human history. While the Washington and King birthdays are exclusively secular holidays, Christmas has both secular and religious aspects. Retrieved November 18, 2009. God's human face: the Christ-icon. Sinai and the Monastery of St. Retrieved December 12, 2011. See the first entry. Retrieved December 28, 2016. There is no doubt that A Christmas Carol is first and foremost a story concerned with the Christian gospel of liberation by the grace of God, and with incarnational religion which refuses to drive a wedge between the world of spirit and the world of matter. Both the Christmas dinners and the Christmas dinner-carriers are blessed; the cornucopia of Christmas food and feasting reflects both the goodness of creation and the joy of heaven. It is a significant sign of a shift in theological emphasis in the nineteenth century from a stress on the Atonement to a stress on the Incarnation, a stress which found outward and visible form in the sacramentalism of the Oxford Movement, the development of richer and more symbolic forms of worship, the building of neo-Gothic churches, and the revival and increasing centrality of the keeping of Christmas itself as a Christian festival. By the later part of the century cathedrals provided special services and musical events, and might have revived ancient special charities for the poor — though we must not forget the problems for large: parish-church cathedrals like Manchester, which on one Christmas Day had no less than eighty couples coming to be married the signing of the registers lasted until four in the afternoon. The popularity of Dickens' A Christmas Carol played a significant part in the changing consciousness of Christmas and the way in which it was celebrated. The popularity of his public readings of the story is an indication of how much it resonated with the contemporary mood, and contributed to the increasing place of the Christmas celebration in both secular and religious ways that was firmly established by the end of the nineteenth century. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. May 10, 2013, at the. Duchesne, Louis, Les Origines du Culte Chrétien, Paris, 1902, 262 ff. Retrieved February 24, 2011. The Origins of Christmas. In: Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen, part 1. Note that the first edition, 1889, doesn't have the discussion of Natalis Solis Invicti ; also Sol Invictus 1905. Retrieved December 27, 2016. Archived from on May 10, 2013. In ; Mason, Alistair; Pyper, Hugh. The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought. Retrieved December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017. Inscriptiones Latinae Antiquissimae, Berlin 1893 , pp. Kampen, Netherlands: Kok Pharos. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2011. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown — Ball State University. Retrieved October 19, 2011. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Retrieved April 30, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2007. Christmas in America: a History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. University Press of Kentucky. Milton was raised an Anglican, trained to become an Anglican minister, and remained an Anglican through the signing of the subscription books of Cambridge University in both 1629 and 1632, which demanded an allegiance to the state church and its Thirty-nine Articles. A Brief Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1. His father had wanted him to practice law but Milton considered writing poetry his life's work. Christmas: Festival of Incarnation. Worship: Reformed According to Scripture. Westminster John Knox Press. Within a few years the Reformed church calendar was fairly well established. The heart of it was the weekly observance of the resurrection on the Lord's Day. They were chosen because they were understood to mark the essential stages in the history of salvation. Worship: Reformed According to Scripture. Westminster John Knox Press. Journal of the History of Ideas. University of Pennsylvania Press. However, when Thomas Mocket, rector of Gilston in Hertfordshire, decried such vices in a pamphlet to justify the parliamentary 'ban' of Christmas, effective since June 1647... Christmastide: its history, festivities and carols. London: John Russell Smith. Domestic Annals of Scotland, p. St Andrews: University of St Andrews and National Archives of Scotland. Archived from on May 19, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2012. The Victorian Christmas Book. The Diary of a Country Parson 1758—1802. Moravian Christmas in the South. Christmas in Colonial and Early America. United States: World Book Encyclopedia, Inc. Carols were altered by substituting names of prominent political leaders for royal characters in the lyrics, such as the Three Kings. Church bells were melted down for their bronze to increase the national treasury, and religious services were banned on Christmas Day. The cake of kings, too, came under attack as a symbol of the royalty. It survived, however, for a while with a new name—the cake of equality. Retrieved November 18, 2016. How did people celebrate the Christmas during the French Revolution? In white-knuckled terror behind closed doors. Anti-clericalism reached its apex on 10 November 1793, when a Fête de la Raison was held in honor of the Cult of Reason. At the sound of Marie-Joseph Chénier's Hymne à la Liberté, two rows of young women, dressed in white, descended the mountain, crossing each other before the 'altar of reason' before ascending once more to greet the goddess of Liberty. Archived from PDF on June 3, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2010. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Christmas: A Candid History. It excoriated individual selfishness and extolled the virtues of brotherhood, kindness, and generosity at Christmas. Dickens preached that at Christmas men should forget self and think of others, especially the poor and the unfortunate. Wordplay: origins, meanings, and usage of the English language. University of Toronto Press, 1996, p. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. Christmas in My Heart, Volume 10, p. Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2001. Inverloch Historical Society Inc. Retrieved July 25, 2008. Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe, p. Godey's copied it exactly, except he removed the Queen's tiara, and Prince Albert's moustache, to remake the engraving into an American scene. Broadview Literary Texts, New York: Broadview Press,. Archived from on December 19, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2011. A History of Graphic Design. Straus November 16, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2014. London: Sidgwick and Jackson. The Xmas Files: Facts Behind the Myths and Magic of Christmas. Retrieved October 23, 2014. Christmas at the Movies: Images of Christmas in American, British and European Cinema. A chapter on representations of Christmas in Soviet cinema could, in fact be the shortest in this collection: suffice it to say that there were, at least officially, no Christmas celebrations in the atheist socialist state after its foundation in 1917. Religious Policy in the Soviet Union. The League sallied forth to save the day from this putative religious revival. Antireligioznik obliged with so many articles that it devoted an entire section of its annual index for 1928 to anti-religious training in the schools. More such material followed in 1929, and a flood of it the next year. It recommended what Lenin and others earlier had explicitly condemned—carnivals, farces, and games to intimidate and purge the youth of religious belief. It suggested that pupils campaign against customs associated with Christmas including Christmas trees and Easter. Some schools, the League approvingly reported, staged an anti-religious day on the 31st of each month. Not teachers but the League's local set the programme for this special occasion. Catholics of the Soviet Empire from Lenin Through Stalin. As observed by Nicholas Brianchaninov, writing in 1929—1930, after the NEP and just as the worst of collectivization was beginning, the Soviets deemed it necessary to drive into the heads of the people the axiom that religion was the synthesis of everything most harmful to humanity. It must be presented as the enemy of man and society, of life and learning, of progress. In caricatures, articles, Bezbozhnik, Antireligioznik, League of Militant Atheists propaganda and films. The young, always eager to be with the latest trend, often responded to such propaganda. In Moscow in 1929 children were brought to spit on the crucifixes at Christmas. Priests in Tiraspol diocese were sometimes betrayed by their own young parishioners, leading to their imprisonment and even death, and tearing their families apart. Retrieved November 22, 2014. For the first time in more than seven decades, Christmas—celebrated today by Russian Orthodox Christians—is a full state holiday across Russia's vast and snowy expanse. As part of Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin's ambitious plan to revive the traditions of Old Russia, the republic's legislature declared last month that Christmas, long ignored under atheist Communist ideology, should be written back into the public calendar. Polosin, head of the Russian legislature's committee on religion. Retrieved March 11, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Archived from on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. When Santa was a shaman. His biographer, Eddius Stephanus, relates that while Boniface was serving as a missionary near Geismar, Germany, he had enough of the locals' reverence for the old gods. Taking an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Norse god Thor, Boniface chopped the tree down and dared Thor to zap him for it. When nothing happened, Boniface pointed out a young fir tree amid the roots of the oak and explained how this tree was a more fitting object of reverence as it pointed towards the Christian heaven and its triangular shape was reminiscent of the Christian trinity. Archived from on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2011. History Matters, Spring 2006. June 29, 2010, at the. A Flame of Love. A Christmas Carol, Broadview Press, 2003, p. Archived from on January 22, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2012. The legend of St. Nicholas, who became the bishop of Myra in the beginning of the fourth century, is the next link in the Christmas-gift chain. Legend has it that during his life the priest rode across Asia Minor bestowing gifts upon poor children. Retrieved April 10, 2012. This exchange network of ceremonial welcome was mirrored in a second reciprocity allowing early Christians to imagine their own magi: the phenomenon of giving gifts. Retrieved April 10, 2012. Most people today trace the practice of giving gifts on Christmas Day to the three gifts that the Magi gave to Jesus. For the Enlightenment educationalist, gift-giving turned out to be a relic of a pagan custom, namely, the Roman Saturnalia. After the introduction of the Julian calendar in Rome, the 25th of December became the day of Sol invictus when people greeted the winter solstice. It was the day of the Sun's rebirth, and it was the day of the Christmas festivities — although it was only in the year 336 AD that it appears to have become established as the day of Jesus's birth see Pannenberg 1989: 57. The Eastern Church adopted this date even later, towards the end of the 4th century, having previously regarded the 6th of January as the day of gift-giving, as it still is in the Italian community of Befana. The winter solstice was a time of festivity in every traditional culture, and the Christian Christmas probably took its place within this mythical context of the solar cult. Its core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event. But in reality it was they, together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life' ibid. Until quite recently, the celebrations focused solely on Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas SIN-ter-klahs , as the Dutch call him. Interestingly, the American Santa Claus was born out of the Dutch Sinterklaas. The regions of Italy: a reference guide to history and culture. Saint Nicholas Bishop of Myra replaced Sabino as the patron saint of the city... A Greek from what is now Turkey, he lived in the early fourth century. Nicholas was born in the Greek city of Patara around 270 AD. The son of a businessman named Theophanes and his wife, Nonna, the child's earliest years were spent in Myra... As a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the middle of the sea lanes that linked Egypt, Greece and Rome, Myra was a destination for traders, fishermen, and merchant sailors. Spawned by the spirit of both the city's Greek heritage and the ruling Roman government, cultural endeavours such as art, drama, and music were mainstays of everyday life. Retrieved February 24, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2012. Father Christmas — but this Santa also goes by the name Jonathan Meath.... Retrieved November 22, 2012. Meath, who is in his first year of being a full-time Santa, makes appearances around Massachusetts at places such as Swing City in Newton.... The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. Retrieved December 5, 2008. The New-York Historical Society Quarterly. Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary. Archived from on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008. Archived from on January 12, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2013. May 17, 2008, at the. Retrieved February 24, 2011. Archived from on March 3, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016. The Nativity: History and Legend. Penguin Books Ltd, p. The Historical Figure of Jesus. Sanders discusses both birth narratives in detail, contrasts them, and judges them not historical on pp. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions Harper One, 1999 , p. Hill, Jesus, the Christ: Contemporary Perspectives, 2004, , p. Archived from on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Archived from on November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2012. New York: Oxford University Press. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas July 2006: Nelson Reference. The Birth of Christ. Glory to Glory Publications UK.