Christmas

Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. According to the Christian gospels, Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem, where she and her husband Joseph had traveled to register in the Roman census. Christ's birth, or nativity, was said by his followers to fulfill the prophecies of Judaism that a messiah would come, from the house of David, to redeem the world from sin. Early Christians celebrated more the subsequent Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was visited by the Magi (and this is still a primary time for celebration in Spain). Efforts to assign a date for his birth began some centuries later. The precise chronology of Jesus' birth and death as well as the historicity of Jesus are still debated.

External links

• Christmas in Finland
• Christmas in Japan How the Western Santa and Asian customs fused to produce this unique holiday
• The custom of celebrating with Christmas Lights Videos and pictures of some extreme forms of holiday lighting

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~