About the Christian Celebration of Christmastide

DESCRIPTION:

The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Christmastide, is the period between Christmas Day and the Epiphany.


Christmas Day is the second most important day in the Christian calendar, second only to Easter, and it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ sometime between 1 BC and 1 AD—there is no year zero.

Christians believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, the Messiah promised to the Israelites and Hebrews, and the world's savior.

Christmas means "The mass of Christ."

Christmas is observed by over two billion people worldwide. Some denominations observe it on December 25; others choose January 7, the day after the Epiphany, or March 25, the day an angel told the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah.

Roman emperor Constantine was the first to declare December 25 as the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in 336 AD, and Pope Julius I confirmed the date a few years later.

In reality, Jesus was born in the early spring, as the bible story of the nativity details the spring census, the reason the family traveled to Bethlehem. The actual date of His birth is not in scripture.

The

Epiphany is on January 6. It is the day God revealed to the magi (the three kings who were not Hebrew. These men traveled to visit the newborn Christ) that Jesus Christ is the Messiah promised and that God manifests within Him, which is significant. Before this event, the covenant of God was with the Hebrews and, before them, the Israelites exclusively. Through a revelation to the magi, God began His covenant with all mankind, allowing every human to choose God rather than having an exclusively chosen people.