The word CHRISTMAS comes from the Old English term Cristes maesse, meaning "Christ's mass" - the name for the festival service of worship held on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem a few miles south of Jerusalem, but there's no definite information on the date of his birth, not even the year. The New Testament stories of Jesus' birth (in the books of Matthew and Luke) were written decades after the event, and no specific dates for the event were given. For several centuries the Christian church itself paid little attention to the celebration of Jesus' birth. The major Christian festival was Easter, the day of his resurrection. Only gradually, as the church developed a calendar to commemorate the major events of the life of Christ, did it celebrate his birth. Because there was no knowledge about the date of Jesus' birth, a day had to be selected. The Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Rite churches within the Roman Catholic church chose January 6. The day was named Epiphany, meaning "appearance," the day of Christ's manifestation. The Western church, based at Rome, chose December 25. It is known from a notice in an ancient Roman almanac that Christmas was celebrated on December 25 in Rome as early as AD 336. In the latter half of the 4th century, the Eastern and Western churches adopted each other's festival, thus establishing the modern Christian 12-day celebration from Christmas to Epiphany. In some places the 12th day is called the festival of the three kings because it is believed that the three wise men, or magi, visited the baby Jesus on that day, bringing him gifts. Today Christmas is more than a one-day celebration, or a 12-day festival. It is part of a lengthy holiday season embracing at least the whole month of December. In the United States the holiday season begins on Thanksgiving Day and ends on January 1. The reason for this extended holiday period is that Christmas is no longer only a religious festival. It is also the most popular holiday period for everyone in countries where Christianity has become the dominant religion. Even in Japan, where Christianity is in the minority, Christmas has become a festive, gift-giving holiday time. Customs and Traditions People who live in the cold winter climates of North America and Europe look forward to a "white Christmas," because snow is one of the features associated with the holiday season. But Christmas is also celebrated in South America, Australia, and New Zealand places where it is summer at Christmas time and also places with year-round warm climates. Each place where the holiday is celebrated has developed its own attitudes toward the occasion and has created customs that try in many ways to express the meaning of the day. Over the centuries a significant number of customs and traditional observances have emerged to make the Christmas season one of the most colorful and festive times of the year. Probably the most universal custom is gift giving, frequently associated with the person of Santa Claus. Other customs have to do with decoration evergreen trees, lights, wreaths, and holly; the sending of cards; good and plentiful food and drink; and the singing of carols and other songs. Gift giving is one of the oldest customs associated with Christmas: it is actually older than the holiday itself. When the date of Christmas was set to fall in December, it was done at least in part to compete with ancient pagan festivals that occurred about the same time. The Romans, for example, celebrated the Saturnalia on December 17. It was a winter feast of merrymaking and gift exchanging. And two weeks later, on the Roman New Year January 1, houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. As the Germanic tribes of Europe accepted Christianity and began to celebrate Christmas, they also gave gifts. In some countries, such as Italy and Spain, children traditionally do not receive gifts on December 25 but on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. In several northern European nations gifts are given on December 6, which is the feast of St. Nicholas - "Santa Claus" - the patron saint of children. The exchange of gifts has remained a central feature of the holiday season the world over. It has become so significant that most merchants count on making a very large proportion of their annual sales during the period from late November to December 24. So important has the Christmas selling period become that many stores fail to show a profit at the end of the year if Christmas sales are low. Trees and decorations. Ancient, pre-Christian winter festivals used greenery, lights, and fires to symbolize life and warmth in the midst of cold and darkness. These usages, like gift giving, have also persisted. The most splendid symbol of a modern Christmas is the brilliantly decorated evergreen tree with strings of multicolored lights. The use of evergreens and wreaths as symbols of life was an ancient custom of the Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews, among other peoples. Tree worship was a common feature of religion among the Teutonic and Scandinavian peoples of northern Europe before their conversion to Christianity. They decorated houses and barns with evergreens at the new year to scare away demons, and they often set up trees for the birds in winter. For these northern Europeans, this winter celebration was the happiest time of the year because it signified that the shortest day of the year about December 21 had passed. They knew the days would start to get longer and brighter. The month during which this festival took place was named Jol, from which the word yule is derived. Yule has come to mean Christmas in some countries. The modern Christmas tree seems to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. A main prop in a medieval play about Adam and Eve was a fir tree hung with apples. Called the "Paradise tree," it represented the Garden of Eden. German families set up a Paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the feast day of Adam and Eve. On it they hung wafers, symbolizing the bread distributed at the celebration of the holy eucharist, or communion, in churches. Because the Christmas holiday followed immediately, candles representing Christ as the light of the world were often added to the tree. Eventually cookies and other sweets were hung instead of wafers. In the same room as the tree Germans kept a Christmas pyramid made of wood, with shelves to hold figurines. The pyramid was also decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star. By the 16th century the pyramid and the Paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree so popular today. The Christmas tree was introduced into England early in the 19th century, and it was popularized by Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria. The trees were decorated with candles, candies, paper chains, and fancy cakes that were hung from the branches on ribbons. German settlers brought the Christmas tree custom to the American colonies in the 17th century. By the 19th century its use was quite widespread. Trees were also popular in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and Holland. In China and Japan Christmas trees were introduced by Christian missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries. There they were decorated with intricate paper designs. The use of evergreens for wreaths and other decorations arose in northern Europe. Italy, Spain, and some other nations use flowers instead. Holly, with its prickly leaves and red berries, came into holiday use because it reminded people of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus on the way to his execution the berries symbolizing droplets of blood. The first Christmas greeting card is believed to have been designed in England in 1843 by an artist named John C. Horsley for a friend, Sir Henry Cole. The design showed a family party, beneath which the words "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You" were inscribed. The practice soon became popular in all English-speaking countries and is most widespread in the United States. Music. The range of Christmas music, both sacred and nonreligious, is large from the majestic oratorio 'Messiah' by George Frideric Handel to the lighthearted "Here Comes Santa Claus." The most popular non-religious tune is probably Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," written for the movie 'Holiday Inn', released in 1942. The most traditional Christmas songs are carols. The word carol was associated with dance and open air. It later came to mean simply a joyful religious song. In France the term is noel, and in Britain nowell. Best known of modern carols is "Silent Night, Holy Night," composed in Austria by Franz Gruber in the 19th century. Other popular carols include "The First Nowell," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," "Away in a Manger," and "O Little Town of Bethlehem."