Topic: Christmas Questions And Answers, Part 1

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS?

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in A.D. 336.

Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar. The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday (other federal holidays are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of six holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption (Mary's Assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).

WHY IS CHRISTMAS SUCH A BIG DEAL?

There are two reasons why Christmas is such a big deal:

- According to the 1994 Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, there are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide. In America, 241 million out of a total population of 281 million people are Christians (85 percent). Because Christians follow Jesus, the birth of Jesus is important to them.

- In America, the weeks leading up to Christmas are the biggest shopping weeks of the year. Many retailers make up to 70 percent of their annual revenue in the month preceding Christmas. Therefore, retailers hype the event beyond belief.

According to Daniel Boorstin in his book The Americans, Christmas was largely a non-event in America until the 1860s. 1867 was the first year that Macy's department store in New York City remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve. 1874 was the year of the first window displays with a Christmas theme at Macy's. It has snowballed from there.

Title: How Christmas Works - The Complete Guide To Christmas Traditions!
Data Source: Http://www.howstuffworks.com/christmas.htm

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