By: Sarai Corral
What is Christmas and what is its origin? The term is also used to refer to the day it is celebrated: December 25 (for Catholic, Anglican, Romanian Orthodox and some Protestant churches) or January 7 (for Orthodox churches that did not adopt the Gregorian calendar). . Although tradition indicates that the birth of Christ occurred on December 25 in Bethlehem, historians believe that the true birth of Jesus took place between April and May.
It is known that in the northern hemisphere the month of December coincides with winter, which casts doubt on the fact that the shepherds were outdoors, that the sky that night was filled with stars, all elements of the events narrated in the biblical texts. .
In any case, the Catholic Church made the decision to maintain the conventional date of Christmas.It is believed that its reasons were that it coincided with the pagan rites for the solstice. For Christianity, the Christmas celebration involves several traditions.
A banquet is usually held that begins at dinner on December 24 and lasts until after midnight (that is, until the day of the birth), births, nativity scenes or mangers (models of Bethlehem that represent the nativity) are assembled, carols are sung and a tree is decorated. Christmas has transcended the limits of religion and is symbolized by Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus), a character inspired by a Greek bishop, who is in charge of bringing gifts to children around the world at the 00:00 hours on December 25. However, nowadays marketing sees Christmas as a time to generate economic income for all the festivities and gifts that are made, starting with how to “spend” or “invest” the famous Christmas bonus.
