ambatchmasterpublisher Sakamoto Ryuichi - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Live

Pre-Ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: List ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals
A ambatchmasterpublisher festival was traditionally the most popular festival ambatchmasterpublisher the year in many cultures, in part because there was less agricultural work to be done during the ambatchmasterpublisher. The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas in modern times may reflect the continuing influence ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher festival tradition, including the following festivals:


[edit] Saturnalia

Alleged representation ambatchmasterpublisher Christ in the form ambatchmasterpublisher the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Third century mosaic ambatchmasterpublisher the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling ambatchmasterpublisher the tomb ambatchmasterpublisher the Julii.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Saturnalia
In Roman times, the best-known ambatchmasterpublisher festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time ambatchmasterpublisher general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation ambatchmasterpublisher formal rules. It included the making and giving ambatchmasterpublisher small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults.[9] During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even public nudity. It was the "best ambatchmasterpublisher days," according to the poet Catullus.[10] Saturnalia honored the god Saturn and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.[11]


[edit] Natalis Solis Invicti
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Sol Invictus
The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday ambatchmasterpublisher the unconquered sun." The use ambatchmasterpublisher the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god ambatchmasterpublisher Emperor Aurelian (AD 270-274); and Mithras, a soldiers' god ambatchmasterpublisher Persian origin.[12] Emperor Elagabalus (218-222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height ambatchmasterpublisher its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[13]

December 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher solstice, which the Romans called bruma.[9] It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening ambatchmasterpublisher daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date ambatchmasterpublisher the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[2] Several early Ambatchmasterpublisher writers connected the rebirth ambatchmasterpublisher the sun to the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[14] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.[2]


[edit] Yule
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Yule
Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a ambatchmasterpublisher festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god ambatchmasterpublisher thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days.[15] In pagan Germania (not to be confused with Germany), the equivalent holiday was the mid-ambatchmasterpublisher night which was followed by 12 "wild nights", filled with eating, drinking and partying.[16] As Northern Europe was the last part to Ambatchmasterpublisherize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the Germanic word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[17] a usage first recorded in 900.


[edit] Origin ambatchmasterpublisher Ambatchmasterpublisher festival

Ambatchmasterpublisher, a father ambatchmasterpublisher the Ambatchmasterpublisher church, argued against the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher birthdays, including the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Christ.It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus' birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.[14] Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Ambatchmasterpublishers written in AD 221.[14] This date is nine months after the traditional date ambatchmasterpublisher the Incarnation (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast ambatchmasterpublisher the Annunciation.[18] March 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the vernal equinox and therefore the creation ambatchmasterpublisher Adam.[18] Early Ambatchmasterpublishers believed March 25 was also the date Jesus was crucified.[18] The Ambatchmasterpublisher idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died on the cross is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number ambatchmasterpublisher years.[18]

The identification ambatchmasterpublisher the birthdate ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church ambatchmasterpublisher Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Ambatchmasterpublisher denounced the idea ambatchmasterpublisher celebrating Jesus' birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays.[19]

The earliest reference to the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas is in the Calendar ambatchmasterpublisher Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[2][20] In the east, meanwhile, Ambatchmasterpublishers celebrated the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus as part ambatchmasterpublisher Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[21]

Christmas was promoted in the east as part ambatchmasterpublisher the revival ambatchmasterpublisher Catholicism following the death ambatchmasterpublisher the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle ambatchmasterpublisher Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress ambatchmasterpublisher Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory ambatchmasterpublisher Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[2]


[edit] Middle Ages

Adoration ambatchmasterpublisher the Magi by Don Lorenzo Monaco (1422).In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit ambatchmasterpublisher the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin ambatchmasterpublisher Tours), now known as Advent.[22] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[22] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas (December 26 - January 6), [22] appropriating the intercalary days ambatchmasterpublisher the old Anglo-Saxon calendar. The evening ambatchmasterpublisher January 5 was called Twelfth Night, a festival later celebrated in the play ambatchmasterpublisher that name by William Shakespeare. The fortieth day after Christmas was Candlemas.

The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. King William I ambatchmasterpublisher England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II ambatchmasterpublisher England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[22] The Yule boar was a common feature ambatchmasterpublisher medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group ambatchmasterpublisher dancers who sang. The group was composed ambatchmasterpublisher a lead singer and a ring ambatchmasterpublisher dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers ambatchmasterpublisher the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions ambatchmasterpublisher Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[22] "Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect ambatchmasterpublisher the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[22]

Ambatchmasterpublisherten the "misrule" got quite out ambatchmasterpublisher hand. According to the History Channel's documentary, Christmas Unwrapped: The History ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, there was even a Christmas custom pre-dating trick-or-treat, in which revelers would knock at a door and demand the best portion ambatchmasterpublisher their host's food and ale, with "severe consequences" if he did not agree.


Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal ambatchmasterpublisher Father Christmas (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.
[edit] The Reformation and the 1800s
During the Reformation, Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings ambatchmasterpublisher popery" and the "rags ambatchmasterpublisher the Beast". The Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[23] The Restoration ambatchmasterpublisher 1660 ended the ban, but most ambatchmasterpublisher the Anglican clergy still disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas celebrations, using Protestant arguments.

In Colonial America, the Puritans ambatchmasterpublisher New England disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas; its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Ambatchmasterpublisher residents ambatchmasterpublisher Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Christmas fell out ambatchmasterpublisher favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.

By the 1820s, sectarian tension in England had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying out. They imagined Tudor Christmas as a time ambatchmasterpublisher heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion over communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[24]

Interest in Christmas in America was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving appearing in his The Sketch Book ambatchmasterpublisher Geambatchmasterpublisherfrey Crayon and "Old Christmas",and by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (poularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.[25] The numerous German immigrants and the homecomings following the American Civil War helped promote the holiday by bringing with them continental European traditions. Christmas was declared a U.S. Federal holiday in 1870 .


[edit] The 20th century and after

"Now it is Christmas again" (1907) by Carl Larsson.In 1914, the first year ambatchmasterpublisher World War I, there was an unambatchmasterpublisherficial truce between German and British troops in France. Soldiers on both sides spontaneously began to sing carols and stopped fighting. The truce began on Christmas Day and continued for some time afterward.[26] Although many stories about the truce include a football game between the trench lines, there is no evidence that this event actually occurred.

Throughout the 20th century, the United States experienced controversy over the nature ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, and its dual status as a religious feast day and a secular holiday ambatchmasterpublisher the same name. Some considered the U.S. government's recognition ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation ambatchmasterpublisher the separation ambatchmasterpublisher church and state. This was brought to trial several times, recently including in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)[8] and Ganulin v. United States (1999).[27] On December 6, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin v. United States (1999) declared that "the establishment ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose." This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on December 19, 2000. At the same time, many devout Ambatchmasterpublishers objected to what they saw as the vulgarization and cooption ambatchmasterpublisher one ambatchmasterpublisher their sacred observances by secular commercial society and calls to return to "the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas" were common. (See:Christmas controversies)

Debates about Christmas in America continued into the 21st century. In 2005, when commercial interests sought to ameliorate Ambatchmasterpublishers concerned with protecting the sacredness ambatchmasterpublisher their holiday and non-Ambatchmasterpublishers uncomfortable with the perceived connection to faith, some Ambatchmasterpublishers, along with American political commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, protested perceiving that it represented the secularization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas rather than its protection. They felt that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Ambatchmasterpublisher agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.[28]


[edit] Santa Claus and other bringers ambatchmasterpublisher gifts

Santa Claus hands out gifts during the US Civil War in Thomas Nast's first Santa Claus cartoon, Harper's Weekly, 1863.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Santa Claus
In Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange ambatchmasterpublisher gifts among friends and family members, some ambatchmasterpublisher the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Joulupukki, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost).

The popular image ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[29]

Father Christmas, who predates the Santa Claus character, was first recorded in the 15th century, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness.[30] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that ambatchmasterpublisher Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana, is the bringer ambatchmasterpublisher gifts and arrives on the eve ambatchmasterpublisher the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children.

In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus imported from the United States.

In Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Südtirol and Liechtenstein the Christkind brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsman (who is the German version ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus). 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, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[31]


[edit] Christmas tree and other decorations

Christmas display in a Brazilian shopping mall
Malaga (Spain) during ChristmasAmbatchmasterpublisher article: Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is ambatchmasterpublisherten explained as a Ambatchmasterpublisherization ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Ambatchmasterpublisher Solstice, which included the use ambatchmasterpublisher evergreen boughs,[32] and an adaptation ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tree worship.[33] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[30] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[33] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[34] From Germany the custom was introduced to England, first via Queen Charlotte, wife ambatchmasterpublisher George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign ambatchmasterpublisher Queen Victoria. Around the same time, German immigrants introduced the custom into the United States.[35] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

Since the 19th century, the poinsettia has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior ambatchmasterpublisher a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.

In Australia, North and South America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside ambatchmasterpublisher houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Municipalities ambatchmasterpublisherten sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.[36]

In the Western world, rolls ambatchmasterpublisher brightly-colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose ambatchmasterpublisher wrapping gifts. The display ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season.


[edit] Economics ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas

Gifts under a Christmas tree.Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items in October and early November.[37]

In most areas, Christmas Day is the least active day ambatchmasterpublisher 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 ambatchmasterpublisher the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.

Most economists agree, however, that Christmas produces a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[38][39] Because ambatchmasterpublisher complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory.

Other deadweight losses include the effects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are ambatchmasterpublisherten perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[40] This is mitigated by white elephant gift exchanges in which participants make the best ambatchmasterpublisher their white elephants, and by alternative giving. Some people have taken to selling their unwanted gifts shortly after Christmas on online auction sites.


[edit] Commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas
Since the late 1800s the economic importance ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas has led to concerns over what is seen as the increasing commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas. The 1823 poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas had popularized the tradition ambatchmasterpublisher exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[41] In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a character who complained that the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree.[42]

The importance ambatchmasterpublisher the economic impact ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was reinforced in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed moving the Thanksgiving holiday date to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy during the Great Depression.[43] Religious leaders protested this move, with a 1931 New York Times roundup ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas sermons showing the most common theme as the dangers ambatchmasterpublisher an increasingly commercial Christmas.[44]

In 1958 Stan Freberg and Daws Butler recorded the audio theater satire Green Chri$tma$, recasting Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit in the roles ambatchmasterpublisher advertising executives. Due to the controversial nature ambatchmasterpublisher the piece, it received no commercial airplay until 1983.

ambatchmasterpublisher The contemporary emphasis on the commercial aspects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas's sometimes overshadows the more spiritual aspects, and has the potential to make the holiday less about charity, religion, or family gatherings, and more about the greed ambatchmasterpublisher receiving gifts.