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The Origin of Christmas

Christmas Day falls on December 25 every year and is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The name Christmas is short for “Christ's Mass”. A Mass is a kind of Church service.

According to the Bible, the holy book of Christians, God decided to allow his only son, Jesus Christ, to be born to a human mother and live on earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other more.

One day about 2,000 years ago, an angel

named Gabriel appeared to a young Jewish girl named Mary, who lived In Nazareth, a city of Galilee, and at time was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. Gabriel told Mary she would have a son, Jesus, who would be the Son of God! Mary was confused and worried about this sudden news, but she had faith in God and said, “I am the Lord's servant; let it be as you say.”

As a result, before Mary and Joseph came together, she was found to be with child. As a righteous man, Joseph did not want to expose her to public disgrace; he had in mind to have the marriage contract set aside quietly. While he thought of breaking up with Mary, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream and said: “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Rising from sleep Joseph did as the angel had directed him; he took Mary home to be his wife.

At that time, they lived in a town called Nazareth. But they had to travel to the city of Bethlehem to register for a census ordered by the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus.

Both Nazareth and Bethlehem are in the country now called Israel. It is about 65 miles (105 km) from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the trip probably took them several days.

When Joseph and Mary got to

Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay because the inn was already full. They ended up spending the night in a stable, a place where animals were kept. There was fresh hay on the floor that they used for beds. That night, Jesus was born. There was no crib, so they laid baby Jesus in a manger. The manger probably had fresh hay in it and made a nice bed for the baby.

Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago is not known, the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (a Latin phrase, Anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”) For the first 300 years, Jesus’ birthday was celebrated on different dates. Finally, in the year 354, church leaders chose December 25 as his birthday.

Christmas has become popular when Christmas cards appeared in 1846 and the concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century.

There are special Christmas services in Christian churches all over the world. But today, many of the festivities of Christmas do not have anything to do with religion. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards are the modern ways of celebrating the Christmas in the world.

Christmas Day-December 25-which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion, is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the United States. According to the Bible,the holy book of Christians,God decided to al-low his only son,Jesus Christ,to be born to a human mother and live on the earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other

more.\born to a young Jewish woman Mary.

Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph,a carpenter,but before they came together,she was found to be with child. Because Joseph,her husband,was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this,an angel of the Lord appeared to him in his dream and said,\conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son,and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.\

Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago is not

known,the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into B.C.(Before Christ)and A.D.(a Latin phrase,Anno Domini,\years,Jesus' birthday was celebrated on different dates. Finally,in the year 354 A.D.church leaders chose December 25 as his birthday. 圣诞节的起源

12月25日的圣诞节是庆祝基督教创始人耶稣基督生日的日子,是美国最大、人们最喜爱的节日。

据基督教徒的圣书《圣经》上说,上帝决定让他的独生子耶稣基督投生人间,找个母亲,然后就在人间生活,以便人们能更好地了解上帝、学习热爱上帝和更好地相互热爱。\圣诞节\的意思是\庆祝基督\庆祝一个年轻的犹太妇女玛丽亚生下耶稣的时刻。

玛丽亚已和木匠约瑟夫订婚。可是,在他们同居之前,约瑟夫发现玛丽亚已怀孕。因为约瑟夫是个正派的人,又不想把这件事说出去让她丢脸,所以他想悄悄地和她分手。但当他考虑完后,上帝的天使出现在他的梦中,对他说:\不要担心了,把玛丽亚娶回家吧。她怀的孩子来自圣灵。她将生下个男孩子,你们给孩子起名叫耶稣,因为他将从罪恶中拯救人们。\

尽管耶稣的确切生日并不清楚,大约是在2000年前,但是日历按着假定日期把时间分为公元前(耶稣基督诞生前)和公元后(A. D.是拉丁文缩写,意思是\有了我们主--耶稣的年代\。在公元后的头300年,耶稣的生日是在不同的日子庆祝的。最后,在公元354年,教堂的领导人把12月25日定为耶稣基督的生日。