Christmas, meaning “Mass of Christ” or the 'celebration of Christ' is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Jesus. Christmas was the most important Christian celebration by the 12th century. But, it is interesting to note that even before the birth of Jesus Christ, numerous Christmas traditions were followed. Here we shall trace the history of Christmas and find out how the tradition of celebrating Christmas took shape. Most of the Christmas history is narrated in the Bible, in the gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew.

A Brief History of the Birth of Jesus
Jesus was born to Mary. According to Christian legends, this was not an ordinary birth. Mary learned from lord’s angel that she is caused to be with a child. Mary and her husband Joseph went to Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth to, what Christians believe, is the incarnation of God in the form of a human being “Jesus Christ”.

Origin of Christmas
Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have derived from pagan celebrations that marked the end of the harvest, and the winter solstice. Winter Solstice also included the theme of rebirth, so church officials incorporated the idea of Christ's birth into the existing celebrations. Pagan Romans celebrated Saturnalia for a week in the month of December (date??). Roman celebrations included masquerades in the streets, gifts engagement, had big festive meals, decked halls, lighted candles and masters and slaves swapped roles. Some scholars even trace Christmas to Mithraism which was celebrated in spirit of the person who always raised dead, healed the sick and cast out the demons.

History of Christmas states that during 4th century AD, Christmas became an important Christian holiday in the Roman Empire. Celebrating the holiday, people cooked special meals, exchanged gifts, and decorated their homes with lights, mistletoes and holly

Deciphering the Date of Christmas
Religious scholars believe that Christ was born on 25th, although they could not reckon the exact month of his birth. Some churches celebrated Jesus' birthday in the spring time and some celebrated it on January 6 (Epiphany). According to an early Roman calendar (AD 336), Christmas fell on December 25th and this was the first mentioned date for Christ’s birth. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism and Saturnalia was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. Such celebrations seemed to be a threat to the growing Christianity and in 350 AD, Bishop of Rome declared 25th December to be observed as the birth of Jesus and since then December 25th is celebrated as Christmas Day.