Merry Christmas 2024- The Importance And Customs

Merry Christmas is celebrated enthusiastically on 25th December worldwide. In Christianism, the day emphasises the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God.

Christmas is a time for meeting family, friends and relatives. The festival begins after dusk and before dawn the next day. Many perceptions are there related to the name of Christmas and its celebration.

The word merry is derived from the Old English word "Myrige", which means pleasant, agreeable and joyful. On the other hand, Christmas is derived from the Old English word "Christes Maesse", or the Mass of Christ.

Behind the festival of Christmas, there are a few convictions; the first one is believed that the date of 25 December was chosen to offset the pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Natalis Invicti.

Secondly, the birth of Jesus Christ, "the true light of the world", may have been chosen on December 25 as the days started to be longer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Christmas customs and traditions are drawn from various cultures, including Teutonic, Celtic, Roman, West Asian, and Christian.

Merry Christmas means "Be happy during this time of the year and celebrate Merry Christmas in the religious or spiritual sense of peace, hope and spiritual sense with all the positivity".

Be happy in Merry Christmas and celebrate this festival with all positivity, as it brings religious or spiritual peace and hope”.

Christmas is one of the significant festivals of Christians. The festival marks the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the son of God. While the date of birth is unknown, and there is still disagreement among many scholars on the birth of Jesus Christ.

But Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born on 25th December and hence celebrate his birthday on this day only, but Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on or near the 7th of January.

In the early 20th century, it was a secular family holiday and was celebrated by both Christians and non-Christian religions. The mythical figure Santa Claus plays a vital role in Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated every year to commemorate the birthday of Jesus Christ.

The festival reflects the truth of spiritual life. It is believed that at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, the world was filled with hatred, greed, ignorance, and hypocrisy, but after his birth, people's lives were enlightened.

He taught people the importance of spirituality, piety and devotion and how these values can improve life. People should wake up their spirituality and aspire for a humble and simple life for worldly pleasures because satisfaction comes from within, not from the things we seek outside. 

According to the Gregorian calendar, Christmas is celebrated by Christians annually on 25 December. But, the Eastern Orthodox Churches still use the Julian calendar for liturgies, and the date corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar.

In most European countries, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve and in North America, on Christmas morning.

Although the actual date of the birth of Jesus Christ is unknown, but during the Roman Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, the first Christmas was celebrated on December 25. Later after a few years, Pope Julius I officially declared December 25 to be the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

On this auspicious festival, Christians perform many Christmas traditions. Christmas preparations start a week before the festival. A few festive activities include visiting the church and singing Christmas carols or songs to welcome the deity, going to picnics, lighting fireworks, and participating in various religious services.

Apart from this, people bring pine or fir trees (evergreen trees) and decorate it as well as their homes with holly, mistletoe, lights, and flowers. In many workplaces, Christmas parties are held the day before or on December 25 because Christmas is a holiday for some and not for all.

Children receive gifts from family, friends, Santa Claus or Father Christmas, and Christmas cards are also given to each other. It is believed that Christmas is a family gathering festival, where a meal is prepared, and cake is the main focus which family and friends enjoy.

On Christmas, churches around the world hold special evening services and candlelight services at midnight.

Merry Christmas is a festival full of joy and hope and holds a spiritual significance for Christians, which marks the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ. The word merry signifies “positivity” and Christmas “pleasant” during this festive season.

Christmas is celebrated worldwide and has its own significance and tradition of celebrating it. People celebrate this festival with family and friends, exchange gifts and do various festive activities. Christmas is the time which teaches the importance of spirituality and spreads love, kindness and peace.

Christmas is around the corner, and we wish you a Merry Christmas may Jesus Christ bless you with peace, love, and happiness. We hope you enjoyed reading this article on Merry Christmas.

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