What is it Christmas? Christmas, or the Feast of the Nativity, is one of the most important holidays in Christian tradition. However, what What is Christmas really about? Christmas is a holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This feast is permanent and is celebrated every year on December 25th. Christmas is preceded by a three-week waiting period, which we call Advent.
In the definition of Church festivals, Christmas is a so-called "holy day" or liturgical feast in the Catholic Church, during which the faithful are obliged to attend Mass and to abstain from work that is not necessary. In the case of the Eastern, Greek Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Christmas is celebrated on January 7, due to differences in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. According to the Julian calendar, January 7 coincides with December 25.
However, why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25? December 25th is the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although it is not mentioned in the Bible, it is mentioned among others by Hippolytus of Rome who wrote that the first arrival Our Lord incarnate, in whom was born in Bethlehem had location the eighth day before the January calendar (i.e., December 25). This day is also indicated by the Christian historian Sectus Julius Africanus.
Other historians such as Duchesne, Engberding, Fendt, and Strobel, for example, believe that the choice of date was inspired by the New Testament apocrypha, which said that Christ's conception took place on March 25. Hence it was calculated that his birth should fall nine months later: December 25. It is probably for these reasons that we celebrate Christmas on December 25th