Is It Christmas Yet?

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Roger Ebert said as much in his glowing three-and-a-half star review of the film in 1993: “This is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen.” The Liturgical Year. Thomas Nelson. November 3, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4185-8073-5 . 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 ( Hebrews 4:15) and who humbled Himself "to the point of death-even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8). 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. But that would not be Christmas. Christmas is the day the Bible states Jesus was born (or at least if it is in the bible at all, the day Christians choose to claim Jesus was born). Thus only one day can be Christmas and no matter how you choose to celebrate and when or how many days, still only the 25th of December will be Christmas! -- Kynde ( talk) 12:41, 3 December 2019 (UTC) In fact, in most settings where a single outcome is a lot more common than any other one, predicting always that most common outcome would yield very high accuracy without any usefulness. It isn't hard to find examples even more accurate than Randall's: Kirk Cameron, William Federer (November 6, 2014). Praise the Lord. Trinity Broadcasting Network. Event occurs at 01:15:14. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014 . Retrieved December 25, 2014. Western Europe celebrated Christmas December 25 as the holiest day. Eastern Europe celebrated January 6 the Epiphany, the visit of the Wise Men, as the holiest day... and so they had this council and they decided to make all twelve days from December 25 to January 6 the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Is it Christmas? - explain xkcd 2236: Is it Christmas? - explain xkcd

In South Tyrol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland, the Christkind ( Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from Saint Basil on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast. [235] The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus / Father Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts, and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. 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. [236] 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. Although it follows the Julian calendar, the Ancient Church of the East decided on 2010 to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar date.

The rival "History of Religions" hypothesis suggests that the Church selected December 25 date to appropriate festivities held by the Romans in honor of the Sun god Sol Invictus. [63] This cult 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 Jacob Bar-Salibi. The scribe who added it wrote: The average number of days in a year in the Gregorian calendar is exactly 365.2425, not 365.25. Leap years are skipped in years divisible by 100 except in years divisible by 400. Programmerjake ( talk) 18:12, 4 December 2019 (UTC) In addition to "Christmas", the holiday has had various other English names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as "midwinter", [31] [32] or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from Latin nātīvitās below). [31] [33] " Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin nātīvitās. [34] In Old English, Gēola ( Yule) referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas. [35] "Noel" (also "Nowel" or "Nowell", as in " The First Nowell") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs) meaning "birth (day)". [36]

What is Christmas? - BBC Bitesize

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 Quartodeciman. 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. [70] Tertullian (d. 220), who lived in Latin-speaking North Africa, gives the date of passion celebration as March 25. [71] The date of the passion was moved to Good Friday in 165. According to the calculation hypothesis, the celebration of the Quartodeciman continued in some areas and the feast became associated with Incarnation. [72]

When was the last white Christmas?

seconded. that's a suspicious lot of javascript just to display yes or no, even with globalisation. -- 141.101.107.144 10:07, 3 December 2019 (UTC) Note: These settings will be stored on your computer and will only affect your future views of the countdown. They will not apply to countdowns shared with other users. One of the most ubiquitous festive songs is " We Wish You a Merry Christmas", which originates from the West Country of England in the 1930s. [215] Radio has covered Christmas music from variety shows from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as modern-day stations that exclusively play Christmas music from late November through December 25. [216] Hollywood movies have featured new Christmas music, such as " White Christmas" in Holiday Inn and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. [216] Traditional carols have also been included in Hollywood films, such as "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and " Silent Night" in A Christmas Story. [216] Traditional cuisine Christmas dinner setting

Is it Christmas?

The School Journal, Volume 49. Harvard University. 1894 . 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. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date) The nativity sequences included in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke prompted early Christian writers to suggest various dates for the anniversary. [40] The calculation hypothesis is considered academically to be "a thoroughly viable hypothesis", though not certain. [73] It was a traditional Jewish belief that great men were born and died on the same day, so lived a whole number of years, without fractions: Jesus was therefore considered to have been conceived on March 25, as he died on March 25, which was calculated to have coincided with 14Nisan. [74] A passage in Commentary on the Prophet Daniel (204) by Hippolytus of Rome identifies December 25 as the date of the nativity. This passage is generally considered a late interpolation. But the manuscript includes another passage, one that is more likely to be authentic, that gives the passion as March 25. [75] Hastings, James; Selbie, John A., eds. (2003). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Vol.6. Kessinger Publishing Company. pp.603–604. ISBN 978-0-7661-3676-2. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018 . Retrieved February 3, 2012.

No!

Also known as "Jolabokaflod" which translates to "the Christmas book" is an Icelandic tradition of giving new books on Christmas Eve and reading them with family and friends. The calendar used by most of the world for civil purposes is the Gregorian calendar, instituted by Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1582. However, most Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the Julian calendar for the purpose of their holidays; December 25th in the Julian calendar is January 7th in the Gregorian calendar for years between 1900 and 2100, so that is the civil date when those countries observe Christmas. The author of isitchristmas.com is aware that this is the case, but has chosen to recognize a single date (December 25th in the Gregorian calendar) as Christmas for the sake of simplicity. The calculation hypothesis suggests that an earlier holiday, the Annunciation (which celebrated the conception of Jesus), held on March 25 became associated with the Incarnation. [63] Christmas was then calculated as nine months later. The calculation hypothesis was proposed by French writer Louis Duchesne in 1889. [64] [65] The Bible in Luke 1:26 records the annunciation to Mary to be at the time when Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, was in her sixth month of pregnancy (cf. Nativity of Saint John the Baptist). [66] [67] Thus, the ecclesiastical holiday to commemorate the Annunciation of the Lord was created in the seventh century and was assigned to be celebrated on March 25; this date is nine months before Christmas, in addition to being the traditional date of the equinox. [67] It is unrelated to the Quartodeciman, which had been forgotten by this time. [68] Further information: Christmas traditions and Observance of Christmas by country Christmas at the Annunciation Church in Nazareth, 1965 Dark brown – countries that do not recognize Christmas on December 25 or January 7 as a public holiday.

Is it Christmas? Is it Christmas?

Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century. After this controversy ran its course, the prominence of the holiday declined for a few centuries. The feast regained prominence after 800 when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day. Ah, learned something today. In Germany and several neighbouring countries Christmas has two days, a first and a second Christmas day (25th and 26th of December). As Christ was born in the night, both days around that night get celebrated. Stupidly I assumed this would be the case in English speaking countries too. So, the UK and a few former colonies have only one day of Christmas, and a "Boxing Day". Thanks for making me spill my time on wikipedia and other sources.;) 172.69.54.39 08:10, 4 December 2019 (UTC) Frøyshov, Stig Simeon. "[Hymnography of the] Rite of Jerusalem". Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology.

Technically, 2021 was the last white Christmas in the UK with 6% of stations recording snow falling, but less than 1% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. Before that 2020 was also a white Christmas, with 6 % of weather stations recording snow falling, however, only 4 % of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. 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 England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Similar legislation was approved in Scotland in 2007. Film studios release many high-budget movies during the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values to hopes of maximizing the chance of nominations for the Academy Awards. [255] See the asterisk that says 99.73 accurate? It probably won't change, that's the joke. 172.69.22.164 20:15, 12 December 2019 (UTC) 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 Reformation 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. [110]