Christmas 2023: Celebrating the Birth Anniversary Of Jesus Christ
Christmas, also called as the Feast of the Nativity, is an important festival of Christians celebrated every year on December 25. This festival commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, a preacher and religious leader believed to be incarnation of almighty God. Christian being the largest religion of the world makes Christmas the most widely celebrated festival in the world.
Christmas is also a major festival in India and almost every Indian state celebrate this day. Let us know more about the Christmas 2023, like how to celebrate life day, what’s its significance and many more from this article below.
Holiday on Christmas 2023
Every year Christmas is celebrated on 25th of December. The original month and date of birth of Jesus Christ are not known but as announced by the church in the early fourth century the date was fixed as December 25. Christmas is observed as a public holiday in almost every state of India. All public offices, schools, colleges, banks, and many private offices provide a day off on the occasion of Christmas.
Birth of Jesus Christ
Christmas is made from two words that comes from the old English, Cristes and maesse, which means the mass of Christ. It is festival related with the birth of Jesus Christ. Story about the birth of Jesus can be found in the Nativity of Jesus that says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Joseph and Mary. When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, they did not get any room and thus Jesus was born in a stable. Birth of Jesus was announced by angels to the shepherds who then spread the word.
Christmas Eve 2023
The day, specifically the evening before Christmas, is known and celebrated as Christmas Eve. Just like Christmas, people celebrate Christmas Eve with great enthusiasm and joy and is observed as partial of full holiday in many places. Families visit together and spend Christmas Eve by singing Carols together, enjoying a great feast, decorating Christmas tree, exchanging gifts, etc.
Christmas Traditions and Observances
Not just Christians, but non-Christians masses now also celebrate Christmas as a seasonal holiday and that too with full pomp and excitement. People decorate Christmas Tree with lights, figurines and their houses with figures of Santa Claus and stockings. Other traditions of this festival including attending churches, throwing Christmas parties, caroling door-to-door, sending Christmas cards, exchanging gifts, and several other. The various traditions followed on the day of Christmas are discussed below.
Attending Church- Many Christians attend churches on the day of Christmas Eve and Christmas. Other than Christmas, high church attendance is shown on the day of Easter, a festival related to resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Decorating Homes and Christmas Tree- People decorate their homes and Christmas trees using lights and other decorative items. Traditional colors related to Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, shed at the time of his crucifixion, green the evergreen tree that itself symbolizes eternal life (as the leaves of evergreen tress are not shed in the winter). The color gold symbolizes the royal gift given by Magi to baby Jesus.
- Nativity Play- Nativity play is one of the oldest traditions of Christmas in which reenactment of Jesus’ birth is done by artists. Many schools and theaters conduct nativity play on the occasion of Christmas.
- Christmas Carols- Christmas carol were folk sung during celebrations of harvest tide as well as Christmas. Later carols were adopted by and began to be sung in church. On the day of Christmas, children move around their community singing Christmas carols from door to door.
- Traditional Christmas Feast– Preparing a special Christmas meal is a very famous and important tradition of Christmas holiday celebration. The meal to be prepared varies greatly from country to country. Special desserts, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies, Christmas cake, etc are also prepared on the day of Christmas.
- Sending Christmas Cards- Exchanging Christmas cards is a famous tradition of Christmas festival. People send Christmas cards to their friends and family members containing greetings and wishes of Christmas.
- Exchanging Gifts- In modern times, exchanging gifts on the occasion of Christmas has become an integral part of this festival. This tradition marks the gifts given by Saint Nicholas and Magi to baby Jesus.
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