A BrIeF hIsToRy oF CeLeBrAtIoN

Christmas is for joy, for giving and sharing, for laughter, for coming together with family and friends, for tinsel and brightly decorated packages... But mostly, Christmas is for love. It was this love for which Jesus came to this world and sacrificed his life.

Thus Christmas is a celebration of love and mirth symbolized by the Nativity, the Santa, the caribou, the poinsettia and the evergreens. All that bring home the spirit of love and life. And this is the spirit that makes Christmas so popular throughout the world.

Though originated by the Roman Catholics who commemorate the December 25th as the day of birth of Christ Child, it has gradually come to be celebrated by the non-Catholics as well. As far as the United States goes, the celebration of X'mas is comparatively of recent origin. Much of the world was already well into Christmas celebrations by the time the United States began to wake up. In the first half of the 19th century the Sunday schools in America held Christmas celebrations. And the celebration of Christmas in America owes its origin to these schools. Alabama was the first state to grant legal recognition to X-mas in 1836. The DC did it in 1870. By 1893 all the states and territories had made similar acknowledgements.

So be it the United States or in other parts of the world Christmas is celebrated as the commemoration of the birth of Christ Child -- very likely the holiest event ever to take place anywhere on the Earth, and an entirely worthy occasion to celebrate. But don't we often wonder if we've got these things about it right? And why is the difference of opinion (however immaterial) regarding the date of birth? Is it even on the right date?

We bring to you a story of the Birth of  Christ Child along and offer you a short tour across the world to know the way  Christmas is celebrated in different parts. But before doing this please don't forget to brush up some historical trivia regarding Jesus' birth.  

Did the x'mas star really come bright on the night?

The Christmas star has traditionally been associated with the spirit of the celebration. What is so special about it?

The stars that appear in the sky today are the same ones that were there two thousand years ago.
Was there a nova at the time of Jesus' birth? The exact time of His birth is not known, but astronomers cannot place a new star appearance anywhere near the possible time. Could it have been a shooting star? Again, the astronomers say it was not likely. A meteor lasts only a few seconds or minutes at best. The wise men followed the star for weeks looking for Jesus. We can rule out comets as well. They can be seen by the naked eye for a week or months. But modern astronomers know which comets were close enough to earth hundreds and thousands of years ago and there was no comet visible to humans around the time of Christ's birth.

Some star gazers suggest that if we move the birth of Jesus to the springtime of 6 B.C., we can attribute the star to the time the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were close together in the heavens. They formed a triangle in the group of stars known as Pisces.