Is It Christmas Yet?

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In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned, [144] and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories. [109] A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by Adolph Tidemand

Is it Christmas Today?

While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so." [148] In 1993, though, a Halloween-Christmas film hybrid starring a slightly demented but well-meaning skeleton in a bat bowtie who nearly gets Santa killed was no easy sell. Worried the film would frighten young viewers used to “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” Disney released the film under its Touchstone Pictures banner, reserved for titles with more mature themes than standard Disney fare (a few years earlier, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” got the same treatment). Kelly, Richard Michael, ed. (2003). A Christmas Carol. Broadview Press. pp.9, 12. ISBN 978-1-55111-476-7. Hastings, James; Selbie, John A., eds. (2003). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Vol.6. Kessinger Publishing Company. pp.603–604. ISBN 978-0-7661-3676-2. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018 . Retrieved February 3, 2012. Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans. [57] Football, among the sports the Puritans banned on a Sunday, was also used as a rebellious force: when Puritans outlawed Christmas in England in December 1647 the crowd brought out footballs as a symbol of festive misrule. [118] The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", old Father Christmas and carol singing. [119] During the ban, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang carols in secret. [58] The Examination and Tryal of Old Father Christmas, (1686), published after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in EnglandChristmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century. After this controversy ran its course, the prominence of the holiday declined for a few centuries. The feast regained prominence after 800 when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day.

Is it Christmas? Is it Christmas?

Earnshaw, Iris (November 2003). "The History of Christmas Cards". Inverloch Historical Society Inc. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016 . Retrieved July 25, 2008.

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Lejeune, Marie Claire. Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe, p.550. University of Michigan ISBN 90-77135-04-9. Kelly, Richard Michael (ed.) (2003), A Christmas Carol, p. 20. Broadview Literary Texts, New York: Broadview Press, ISBN 1-55111-476-3. In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in western Christianity focused on the visit of the magi. But the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent. [96] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent. [96] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. [96] There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25. [b] [13] [14] [15] This corresponds to the traditional date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar. [16] It is exactly nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox. [17] Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas. [18] [19] [20] Roll, Susan K. (1995). Towards the Origin of Christmas. Kok Pharos Publishing. p.97, cf. note 173. ISBN 978-90-390-0531-6. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021 . Retrieved April 9, 2021.