Welcome to our holiday celebration! Let's take a moment to learn about the history of this special day. The origins of Christmas can be traced back to the 4th century, when the birth of Jesus Christ was first associated with December 25th. This date was chosen due to early Roman traditions and other European festivals that celebrated the end of the harvest and the winter solstice.

Many customs from these celebrations have endured, such as decorating homes with greenery, giving gifts, singing songs, and enjoying special foods. The holiday continued to develop with the legend of St. Nicholas, a bishop from Asia Minor who lived in the 4th century. Although many of the miracles attributed to him are unconfirmed, he is considered the patron saint of children, sailors, and the poor.

In honor of St. Nicholas, the Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated on December 6th, with gifts given the night before. This tradition was well-established in many European countries by the 12th century. Eventually, St. Nicholas' Day and Christmas Day's traditions were combined.

Different countries have their versions of St. Nicholas, such as Sinter Klaas in The Netherlands, Father Christmas in Great Britain, and Père Noël in France. In the United States, Sinter Klaas evolved into Santa Claus.

Other interesting Christmas facts include the story of Jesus Christ's birth, told in the New Testament's gospel of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew. Some Christians celebrate Jesus Christ's coming on January 6th, the Epiphany, when they believe he was baptized. The song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" refers to the 12 days between Christmas and the Epiphany. The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes maesse, which means Christ's mass. The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas, as X is the first letter of Christ's name in Greek.

1969, the Roman Catholic Church dropped St. Nicholas' Feast Day from its calendar because of his unreliably documented life. The German word Christkindl, which means Christ child, eventually turned into Kriss Kringle. Santa Claus was generally depicted as an elf until 1931, when Coca-Cola ads portrayed him as human-sized. Rudolph didn't become Santa's ninth reindeer until 1939 when an advertising writer for the department store Montgomery Ward created him.

We hope you found this brief history of Christmas interesting and informative. Let's continue to celebrate together! http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/christmas/history.html#:~:text=The%20first%20time%20the%20birth,harvest%2C%20and%20the%20winter%20solstice.