Christmas: Difference between revisions

[[File:Christmas Tree and Presents.jpg|대체글=|thumb|A Christmas tree with presents]]

'''Christmas''' is the biggest holiday in Christianity, regardless if someone is Catholic or Protestant, and it is also called '''Christ’s Nativity''' or the birth of Christ. It is commonly known as the day commemorating the birth of [[Jesus Christ]]. The date is generally December 25, but some churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church which observes the Julian calendar, celebrate it around January 7 of the solar calendar. The [[Bible]] does not specify the birth date of [[Christ]]. The custom of celebrating Christmas on December 25 came from [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mithraism Mithraism] (the worship of the sun god) which originated in ancient Persia. While Christianity was being secularized around the 4th century, December 25, the birthday of the sun-god Mithra, began to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-christmas-in-december|title=Why Is Christmas in December?|website=Britannica|date=|quote=}}</ref> Christmas is a compound word of ''Christ'' and ''Mass'', which is a shortened form of Christ’s Mass.<ref>[https://jakubmarian.com/etymology-of-the-words-christmas-and-xmas/ Origin of the words Christmas and Xmas], ''Jakub Marian’s Language learning, science & art''</ref> It is called Noël in French, Navidad in Spanish, and Natale in Italian.

The commemoration of Jesus’ birth on December 25 has no basis at all in the Bible. The records of Jesus’ birth can be found in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and the [[Gospel of Luke]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Matthew+2%3A1-11&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Matthew 2:1–11|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+2%3A1-20&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Luke 2:1–20|quote=}}</ref> As for the time of His birth, there is a hint in the Gospel of Luke. According to the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus was born in a in a private family house in Bethlehem, shepherds were out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks at night.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+2%3A6-8&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Luke 2:6–8|quote=}}</ref> Israel's climate is hot and dry in summer and relatively cool and humid in winter. There are large regional differences in precipitation and temperature, but the rainy season is from November to April, and December belongs to the winter season. Bethlehem is located in the highlands of the eastern Mediterranean, so the temperature is low even in summer and it even snows in December. Based on the record that shepherds tended the sheep at night, most scholars generally accept that the time of Jesus’ birth was not winter but spring.<ref>Richard V. Barnett, ''The Case for Israel'', Writers Republic LLC, 2020, p. 35</ref><ref>John Schwarz, ''A Handbook of the Christian Faith'', Bethany House, 2004, p. 76</ref>

{{quote5 |내용= After they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” |출처= [https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Deuteronomy+12%3A30&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Deuteronomy 12:30]}}{{quote5 |내용= “You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will drive you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners and inflict punishment on you. You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” |출처= [https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Ezekiel+11%3A8-12&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Ezekiel 11:8–12]}}

*[[Commandments of God]]

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