Does anyone know what year was the first Christmas?
921948
There were Christmas celebrations in Rome as early as 336 AD. December 25 was added to the calendar as a feast day in 350 AD.
863841
here are some links for you\n\nhttp://www.mymerrychristmas.com/traditions/2000tr02.html\n\nhttp://www.christmaslore.com/\n\nhttp://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/xmas.html
833110
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas\n\nWell, if Luke 1:26 says Elizabeth was 6 months along, and Mary was just getting on, then the math would indicate you are correct.\n\nThe above link discusses the way December 25th came about.
418792
In 1564, France.\nApril 1st use to be the first day of the year according to the old calendar system. Since the change they wanted to remember the day and make it a joke day.
981212
THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS\n\nIt was not until several hundred years after Jesus lived on the earth that people began to commemorate his birth on December 25. But that was not the date of Jesus’ birth.\n\nConsider the weather conditions at that time of the year in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The Jewish month of Chislev (corresponding to November/December) was a month with cold and rainy weather. The month after that was Tebeth (December/January). It saw the lowest temperatures of the year, with occasional snows in the highlands. Let us see what the Bible tells us about the climate of that region.\nThe Bible writer Ezra shows that Chislev was indeed a month known for cold and rainy weather. After stating that a crowd had gathered in Jerusalem “in the ninth month [Chislev] on the twentieth day of the month,” Ezra reports that people were “shivering . . . on account of the showers of rain.” Concerning weather conditions at that time of the year, the congregated people themselves said: “It is the season of showers of rain, and it is not possible to stand outside.” (Ezra 10:9, 13; Jeremiah 36:22) No wonder shepherds living in that part of the world made sure that they and their flocks were no longer out of doors at night when December came around!\nThe Bible reports, however, that shepherds were in the fields tending their flocks on the night of Jesus’ birth. In fact, the Bible writer Luke shows that at that time, shepherds were “living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks” near Bethlehem. (Luke 2:8-12) Notice that the shepherds were actually living out of doors, not just strolling outside during the day. They had their flocks in the fields at night. Does that description of outdoor living fit the chilly and rainy weather conditions of Bethlehem in December? No, it does not. So the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth indicate that he was not born in December.\n\nSo why was December 25 chosen? Some who later claimed to be Christian likely “wished the date to coincide with the pagan Roman festival marking the ‘birthday of the unconquered sun.’” (The New Encyclopædia Britannica) In winter, when the sun seemed weakest, pagans held ceremonies to get this source of warmth and light to come back from its distant travels. December 25 was thought to be the day that the sun began its return. In an effort to convert pagans, religious leaders adopted this festival and tried to make it seem “Christian.”\n\nThe pagan roots of Christmas have long been recognized. Because of its unscriptural origin, Christmas was banned in England and in some of the American colonies during the 17th century. Anyone who even stayed home from work on Christmas day had to pay a penalty. Soon, though, the old customs were back, and some new ones were added. Christmas once again became a big holiday, and that is what it still is in many lands. Because of the connections that Christmas has with false religion, however, those who want to please God do not celebrate it or any other holiday that has its roots in pagan worship.\n\nhttp://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/15/article_01.htm\n\n\n.
755964
I'm a substitute teacher in Nova Scotia, and I also did my student teaching here. From what I've observed, most schools here do Christmas, but it is totally secular, no Nativity is mentioned.
14262
No there used to be a tradition in the middle ages where you would feast from Christmas (december 25th) to the Empithany(january thithy) whicg total of 12 days. This period was called the 12 days of christmas or the twelvetide.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Days_Of_Christmas
156283
Date of the celebration\n\nM’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”\n\nLuke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”\n\nThe Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”\n\nThe New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”\n\nWise men, or Magi, led by a star\n\nThose Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible.  Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?\n\n. Regarding the date for Christmas celebrations, the Enciclopedia de la Religión Católica frankly states: “The reason that the Roman Church decided to assign this date to the festival seems to be its tendency to replace pagan festivals with Christian ones. . . . We know that in Rome at that time, the pagans consecrated December 25 as the celebration of natalis invicti, the birth of the ‘invincible sun.’”\n\n“Christmas has been celebrated on December 25 in all Christian churches since the fourth century. At that time, this was the date of the pagan winter-solstice festival called the ‘Birth (Latin, natale) of the Sun,’ since the sun appeared to be reborn as the days once again became longer. In Rome, the Church adopted this extremely popular custom . . . by giving it a new meaning.”—Encyclopædia Universalis,\n\nZenobia’s Legacy\n\n  Upon returning to Rome after defeating Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, Emperor Aurelian built a temple to the sun. In it he placed the statues of the sun-god that he had brought back from her city. Commenting on further developments, the magazine History Today says: “The most reverberant of all Aurelian’s actions is perhaps the establishment, in AD 274, of an annual festival of the sun falling on the winter solstice, December 25th. When the empire became Christian the birthday of Christ was transferred to this date to make the new religion more acceptable to those who enjoyed the festivities of the old. It is a curious thought, that it should be ultimately due to the Empress Zenobia that . . . [people] celebrate our Christmas.”
875118
Yeah Jesus definately was not born on December 25 (In the bible it mentions that the shepards and their flocks were outside when Jesus was born and obviously would not be out there if it was in the freezing winter). December 25 was the date of the Roman festival marking the 'birthday of the unconquered sun.' Christians back then wished the date to concide with it. And even if it was his birthdate do you think Jesus would be happy with how commercialized christmas is and them making money off "his birthday" (No he would turn over the table of money)
706799
In the year 800 ad...\nIn the Holy Roman Empire: the pope baptized Herr Otto on Dec.25... this date became what we know now as Christmas...\n\nThis was the celebration of the renowned Christian Kingdom, which today is called Germany...\n\nTherefore the date has become a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, instead of the birth of a kingdom...\n\nAfter the fact of the earlier kingdom, then the English version appears...\nThough Christmas has been celebrated since the 4th century AD, the first known usage of any Christmastime greeting, "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" (thus incorporating two greetings) was in an informal letter written by an English admiral in 1699. The same phrase appeared in the first Christmas card, produced in 19th century England.\n\nThe then relatively new term "Merry Christmas" figured prominently in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in 1843. The cynical Ebenezer Scrooge rudely deflects the friendly greeting and broods on the foolishness of those who utter it. "If I could work my will," says Scrooge, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding." After the Spirits of Christmas effect his transformation, he is able to heartily exchange the wish with all he meets. The continued popularity of A Christmas Carol and the Victorian era Christmas traditions it typifies have led some to credit Dickens with popularizing, or even originating, the phrase "Merry Christmas.\n\nThe alternative "Happy Christmas" gained wide usage in the late 19th century, and is still common in the United Kingdom and Ireland. One reason may be the alternative meaning, still current there, of "merry" as "tipsy" or "drunk." Queen Elizabeth II is said to prefer "Happy Christmas" for this reason. In American poet Clement Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823), the final line, originally written as "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night," has been changed in many editions to "Merry Christmas to all", perhaps indicating the relative popularity of the phrases in the United States.\n\nTo be merry is a biblical term, as in eat, drink, and be merry...
323819
Okay . . . Okay . . . the questioner is correct . . . \n\nChristmas is originally a pagan holiday . . . a week long festival . . . actually 12 days long . . . reminds you of a song.\n\nThis holiday was adopted to convert pagans into Christianity . . . and they accepted it hook, line, and sinker.\n\nThe majority of the holidays celebrated by Christian have pagan origins . . . but back to Christmas . . . \n\nSome of you said you celebrate this day in remembrance of the birth of Christ.  Did Christ ask his followers to remember his birth?  No he did not . . . instead he commanded his followers to commemorate the last supper in his remembrance . . . . Not do perform it daily or weekly . . . but annually like the early christians did . . . prior to 325 AD.
5102
The use of mistletoe during Christmas came whenever Christianity arrived on the Celtic isles. Most Christmas traditions are an absorbtion of older pagan traditions, in this case mistletoe is an absorbtion of the Celtic belief that mistletoe has magical powers, namely that of healing and fertility. It was hung in Celtic homes to bring prosperity and ward off evil.\n\nTo this day Druids in Tenbury Wells, in Worcestershire, central England still preform a blessing before the town's mistletoe goes on sale. Britian's House of Commons is currently backing the creation of an annual national Mistletoe Day, scheduled for Dec. 1.
11911
The only reason Christmas is put on December 25th was to replace a popular Roman Pagan holiday. A lot of the customs of that holiday remains today. Most scholors believe Jesus was born in springtime, due to the passage of the shephards, but there is no evidence besides that.
1173621
because christmas was a pagan holiday.\n\nChristmas Dec 25th.  No clue who came up with that date but it isn't correct.  Jesus was born in the spring time with flowers blooming and songs singing, so says the bible.  Even in Israel, that still translates to April-ish not December.  It snows in Jerusalem in December.\n\nBefore Christmas was Christmas it was known as Appollo's birthday as well as Mithras.  Both popular religious sects in Rome, before Christianity was founded (yes I did just say founded, read up some)  There was an old belief that the Holly King and the Oak King were born opposite one another on the yearly cycle.  The easiest way to explain this idea is the winter king and the summer king.  winter king was born in December (or snow) so that his rule would be transfered at the height of summer.  summer king was born in the height of summer so his crown would transfer at the height of winter.  Appollo was thought to be the holly/winter king and his birthfeast was afixed to december.  more than likely around the solstice December 20th or 21st.  As Christianity absorbed these sects the traditions came with them.  the apple was the signature fruit of Appolo.\n\nNow the celebration of Christmas had always been a somber and less than joyful celebration.  In the English area, the commoners celebrated Yule, while the nobils or rather highborns celebrated christmas....they were christians.  Once Christianity became the adopted form of religion Yule was prohibted, but again since Christianity was a Roman creation....it followed the roman ways, adopting things and calling it theirs.\n\nThe Christmas celebration had always been much tamer in the Protestant homes as they concentrated on the sacrifices Jesus made, until....\n\nOne English Queen married a German Nobil and the German Tradition (which was really a leftover from the Viking Era) was the Christmas tree.  This now German born English King refused to give up his winter/yule tradition and thusly the Christmas Tree tradition was born as everyone wanted to be like the Queen.  \n\nThen in the early 18th century, Christmas became a little less formal and more of a family affair about brotherly love and so forth.\n\nChristmas has seen a huge change since it's inception.  Anything to party and have fun, right?  Every reason is a reason to get together.
961329
This is what Christmas is supposed to be about Anymore it is about who can get the most presents and all that materialistic crap:\n\nLuke 2\n   1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. \n\n   2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) \n\n   3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. \n\n   4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) \n\n   5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. \n\n   6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. \n\n   7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. \n\n   8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. \n\n   9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. \n\n   10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. \n\n   11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. \n\n   12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. \n\n   13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, \n\n   14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. \n\n   15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. \n\n   16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. \n\n   17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. \n\n   18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. \n\n   19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. \n\n   20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. \n\n   21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. \n\n   22And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; \n\n   23(As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) \n\n   24And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. \n\n   25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. \n\n   26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. \n\n   27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, \n\n   28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, \n\n   29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: \n\n   30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, \n\n   31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; \n\n   32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. \n\n   33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. \n\n   34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mar
335118
Yes, there was a year 1 AD, though at the time they did not call it that.  Around the 6th century, it was decided by the Church that dates should start from what they estimated to be the birth of Christ-but of course that was around 500 years after the fact, so in the year 1 AD (500 years before) they didn't have any idea that someday that year would be considered 1 AD.  That is far from the start of time, though, since it was only 2006 years ago.  Regardless of whether you believe in God and creation, or in the big bang, both believe there was a point at which time started.  For the big bang, its estimated anywhere from 14 billion years (classic view) or 20+ billion years (newer hypothesis based upon the inflation model). For conservative Christians, the date is something like 6000 years, and for other religions it is different as well.
187464
Along with mistleto, pine trees, gifts, celebrating the birth of Christ--NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE EVER COMMANDED IN THE BIBLE!!! Read the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 10! It explicitly mentions the "christmas" tradition--see what GOD really thinks about it all!