Bezbozhnik u stanka - Run along, Lord, 1931, n

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

is the Christian celebration of the birth of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, which, in

Western Christian Churches Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...

, is held annually on 25 December. For centuries, it has been the subject of several reformations, both religious and secular. In the 17th century, the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

had laws forbidding the ecclesiastical celebration of Christmas, unlike the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

or the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, the latter from which they separated. With the atheistic

Cult of Reason The Cult of Reason (french: Culte de la Raison) was France's first established state-sponsored atheistic religion, intended as a replacement for Roman Catholicism during the French Revolution. After holding sway for barely a year, in 1794 it ...

in power during the era of

Revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Christian Christmas religious services were banned and the

three kings cake A king cake, also known as a three kings cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany. Its form and ingredients are variable, but in most cases a () such as a figurine, often said to represent the Christ Child, is hidden insid ...

was forcibly renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical government policies. Later, in the 20th century, Christmas celebrations were prohibited under the doctrine of

state atheism State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically l ...

in the Soviet Union. In

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, organized religion as a whole was attacked as an enemy of the state and Christmas celebrations were corrupted so as to serve the Party's racist ideology. Modern-day controversy occurs mainly in China, the United States and to a much lesser extent the United Kingdom. Some opponents have denounced the generic term "holidays" and avoidance of using the term "Christmas" as being

politically correct ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

. This often involves objections to government or corporate efforts to acknowledge Christmas in a way that is multiculturally sensitive.

History

Date

Sextus Julius Africanus Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240; Greek: Σέξτος Ἰούλιος ὁ Ἀφρικανός or ὁ Λίβυς) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late second and early third centuries. He is important chiefly because o ...

, a historian of the second century, maintained that Jesus of Nazareth was conceived on 25 March, which the Christian Church came to celebrate as the Feast of the Annunciation. With the term of a pregnancy being nine months, Sextus Julius Africanus held that Jesus was born on 25 December, which the

Western Christian Church Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...

established as

. Recorded in Sextus Julius Africanus's ''Chronographiai'' (221 AD), this thesis is corroborated by an interpretation of

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

that places the appearance of

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

to Zechariah on the observance of

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

that occurs around October, as "the worshipers were praying outside of the Temple and not within" for "only the priest could enter the Temple at this time to conduct the proper rituals"; because Jesus was six months younger than his cousin

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, Jesus was conceived in March and born in late December. An early mention of Christmas observance is from 129 AD when a Roman bishop decreed: "In the Holy Night of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour, all shall solemnly sing the Angels Hymn." In 274 AD,

Emperor Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited th ...

made a festival for

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes simply known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists ...

("The Unconquered Sun"), originally a Syrian deity who was later adopted as the chief deity of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. While some writers believe this may have influenced the Christian feast of Christmas, other historians such as Louis Duchesne, and Thomas Talley maintain that the Christian feast of Christmas was already being celebrated and that Aurelian established ''Dies Natalis Solis Invicti'' in order to compete with the Christian feast of Christmas. The Christian Council of Tours of 567 established Advent as the season of preparation for Christmas, as well as the season of

Christmastide Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. In some, Christmastide is identical to Twelvetide. For the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church and Methodist Church, Christmastide begins on 24 December ...

, declaring "the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany to be one unified festal cycle", thus giving significance both to 25 December and to 6January, a solution that would "coordinate the solar Julian calendar with the lunar calendars of its provinces in the east". In Christian belief, the teaching that

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

came into the world in the form of man to atone for the

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

s of humanity, rather than the exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas; the exact date of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is considered a non-issue. During the winter, the burning of logs was a common practice among many cultures across Northern Europe. In Scandinavia, this was known as the

yule log The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America. The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Like other traditions associated wit ...

and originally had a pagan significance; after the

Christianization of Scandinavia The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archdioceses, responsible direc ...

, it may have been incorporated into the Christian celebration of Christmas there, with the pagan significance no longer remaining. However, as there are no existing references to a Christmas log prior to the 16th century, the burning of the Christmas block may have been an early modern invention by Christians unrelated to the pagan practice. Many other Advent and Christmastide customs developed within the context of Christianity, such as the lighting of the

Advent wreath The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church. It is traditionally a Lutheran practice, although it has spread to many other ...

(invented by

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

s in 16th century Germany), the marking of an

Advent calendar An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood ...

(first used by Lutherans in the 19th century), the lighting of a Christingle (invented by Moravians in 19th century Britain), and the viewing of a

Nativity play A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity. Liturgical The term "Nativity Drama" is used by Wellesz in his discussion of the ...

(first enacted by Catholic monks in 11th century Italy).

Puritan

Prior to the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, Christmas was primarily a religious holiday observed by Christians of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and

denominations. Its importance was often considered secondary to that of

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

and

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. The Puritans, on the other hand, objected to the Christian feast of Christmas, during the English Interregnum, when England was ruled by a Puritan

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Puritans sought to remove elements they viewed as unbiblical, from their practice of Christianity, including those feasts established by the

. In 1647, the Puritan-led English Parliament banned the celebration of Christmas, replacing it with a day of fasting and considering it "a

popish The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodo ...

festival with no biblical justification", and a time of wasteful and immoral behaviour. Puritans disliked traditions that inverted social heirarchies, such as

wassailing The tradition of wassailing (''alt sp'' wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a ...

in which the rich were expected to give to the poor on demand, and which with the addition of alcohol sometimes turned into violent intrusions.How the Puritans once banned Christmas in Massachusetts
/ref> 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 A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

slogans. 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. The

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban. ''Poor Robin's Almanack'' contained the lines: "Now thanks to God for Charles return, / Whose absence made old Christmas mourn. / For then we scarcely did it know, / Whether it Christmas were or no." Many clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. In Scotland, the presbyterian

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

also discouraged observance of Christmas. James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, but attendance at church was scant. In Colonial America, the Pilgrims of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

disapproved of Christmas. The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World building their first structure in the New World—thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day. Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England. Christmas observance was outlawed in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1659, with a fine of five

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

. The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by an English appointed governor,

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

; however, it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region. Before the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

in 1776, it was not widely celebrated in the American Colonies.

19th century

With the appearance of the Oxford Movement in the

, a revival in the traditional rituals and religious observances associated with Christmastime occurred. This ushered in "the development of richer and more symbolic forms of worship, the building of neo-Gothic churches, and the revival and increasing centrality of the keeping of Christmas itself as a Christian festival" as well as "special charities for the poor" in addition to "special services and musical events". Historian

Ronald Hutton Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 b ...

believes the current state of observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid- Victorian revival of the holiday, spearheaded by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, who "linked worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation". Dickens was not the first author to celebrate Christmastide in literature, but it was he who superimposed his humanitarian vision of the holiday upon the public, an idea that has been termed as Dickens's "Carol Philosophy". Gifts xmas

Historian Stephen Nissenbaum contends that the modern celebration in the United States was developed in New York State from defunct and imagined Dutch and English traditions in order to refocus the holiday from one where groups of young men went from house to house demanding alcohol and food into one centered on the happiness of children. He notes that there was a deliberate effort to prevent children from becoming greedy in response. Christmas was not proclaimed a holiday by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

until 1870.

20th century

In the early 20th century, Christian writers such as

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

noted what he saw as a distinct split between the religious and commercialized observance of Christmas, the latter of which he deplored. In ''Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus'', Lewis gives a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

of the observance of two simultaneous holidays in "Niatirb" ("Britain" spelled backward) from the supposed view of the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

historian

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

(484–425 BC). One of the holidays, "Exmas", is observed by a flurry of compulsory commercial activity and expensive indulgence in alcoholic beverages. The other, "Crissmas", is observed in Niatirb's temples. Lewis's narrator asks a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas. He receives the reply: The Soviet Union (until 1936), and certain other Communist regimes, banned Christmas observances in accordance with the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of

. In the 1920s USSR, the

League of Militant Atheists The League of Militant Atheists (), also Society of the Godless () or Union of the Godless (), was an atheistic and antireligious organization of workers and intelligentsia that developed in Soviet Russia under influence of the ideological and ...

encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, and encouraged them to spit on

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

es as protest against this holiday; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. Most customs traditionally associated with Christmas, such as decorated trees (renamed as

New Year Tree New Year trees are decorated trees similar to Christmas trees that are displayed to specifically celebrate the New Year. They should not be confused with the practice of leaving up a Christmas tree until after New Year's Day (traditionally until ...

s), presents, and

Ded Moroz Ded Moroz (russian: Дед Мороз, ; Russian diminutive: russian: Дедушка Мороз, Dedushka Moroz, label=none; sk, Dedo Mráz; pl, Dziadek Mróz) or Morozko (russian: Морозко) is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicho ...

(Father Frost), were later reinstated in Soviet society, but tied to New Year's Day instead; this tradition remains as of the present day. However, most Russian Christians are of the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

community, whose religious festivals (Christmas, Easter etc.) do not necessarily coincide precisely with those of the main western Christian churches (Catholic or Protestant), because of continued connection of the church calendar to the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

. Likewise, in

, "because Nazi ideologues saw organized religion as an enemy of the totalitarian state, propagandists sought to deemphasize — or eliminate altogether—the Christian aspects of the holiday" and as a result "propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regime's racial ideologies."

China

The

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

has a doctrine of

and prior to the start of the Christmas season in 2018, the Chinese government shut down many Christian churches and arrested their pastors to prevent them from celebrating the holiday. According to NetEase, on the Christmas Day of 2014, a "Boycotting Christmas" campaign launched in downtown

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a popul ...

, Hunan Province, China.

United States

The expression "the War on Christmas" has been used in the media to denote Christmas-related controversies. The term was popularized by

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

commentators such as

Peter Brimelow Peter Brimelow (born 13 October 1947) is a British-born American white nationalist and white supremacist writer. He is the founder of the website VDARE, an anti-immigration site associated with white supremacy, white nationalism, and the alt-r ...

and Bill O'Reilly beginning in the early 2000s. Brimelow, O'Reilly and others claimed that any specific mention of the term "Christmas" or its religious aspects was increasingly

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, avoided, or discouraged by a number of advertisers, retailers, government sectors (prominently schools), and other public and secular organizations. As the egalitarian term "holidays" gained popularity, some Americans and Canadians denounced that usage as a capitulation to political correctness. Jeff Schweitzer, a commentator for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', addressed the position of commentators such as O'Reilly, stating that "There is no war on Christmas; the idea is absurd at every level. Those who object to being forced to celebrate another's religion are drowning in Christmas in a sea of Christianity dominating all aspects of social life. An 80 percent majority can claim victimhood only with an extraordinary flight from reality." Heather Long, an American columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', addressed the "politically correct" question in America over use of the term "holidays", writing, "people who are clearly celebrating Christmas in their homes tend to be conflicted about what to say in the workplace or at school. No one wants to offend anyone or make assumptions about people's religious beliefs, especially at work."

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

is recognized as an official

federal holiday Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...

by the United States government. The

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

argues that government-funded displays of Christmas imagery and traditions violate the U.S. Constitution—specifically the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, which prohibits the

establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

by Congress of a national religion; on the other hand the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy organization, believes that Christmas displays are consistent with the First Amendment, as well as court rulings that have repeatedly upheld

accommodationism In law and philosophy, accommodationism is the co-existence of religion with rationalism or irreligion. It may be applied to government practice or to society more broadly. Accommodationist policies are common in liberal democracies as a method of g ...

. The debate over whether religious displays should be placed within public schools, courthouses, and other government buildings has been heated in recent years. In some cases, popular aspects of Christmas, such as Christmas trees, lights, and decorating are still prominently showcased, but are associated with unspecified "holidays" rather than with Christmas. The controversy also includes objections to policies that prohibit government or schools from forcing unwilling participants to take part in Christmas ceremonies. In other cases, the Christmas tree, as well as Nativity scenes, have not been permitted to be displayed in public settings altogether. Also, several U.S. chain retailers, such as

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, have experimented with greeting their customers with " Happy Holidays" or " Season's Greetings" rather than with " Merry Christmas". Supreme Court rulings, starting with ''

Lynch v. Donnelly ''Lynch v. Donnelly'', 465 U.S. 668 (1984), was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the legality of Christmas decorations on town property. Background Pawtucket, Rhode Island's annual Christmas display in the city's shopping district, c ...

'' in 1984, have permitted religious themes in government-funded Christmas displays that had "legitimate secular purposes". Since these rulings have been splintered and have left governments uncertain of their limits, many such displays have included secular elements such as reindeer, snowmen and elves along with the religious elements. Other recent court cases have brought up additional issues such as the inclusion of

Christmas carols Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

in public school performances, but none of these cases have reached the Supreme Court. A controversy regarding these issues arose in 2002, when the New York City public school system banned the display of

Nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects rep ...

s but allowed the display of what the policy deemed less overtly religious symbols such as Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs, and the Muslim star and crescent. The school system successfully defended its policy in ''Skoros v. City of New York'' (2006).

Retail

Since at least 2005, religious conservative groups and media in the United States, such as the American Family Association (AFA) and

Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who a ...

, have called for boycotts of various prominent secular organizations, particularly retail giants, demanding that they use the term "Christmas", rather than solely "holiday", in their print, TV, online, and in-store marketing and advertising. This was also seen by some as containing a hidden anti-Jewish message. All the major retailers named denied the charges.

2000s

* In 2005,

was criticized by the Catholic League for avoiding the word "Christmas" in any of their marketing efforts. The company had downplayed the term "Christmas" in much of its advertising for several years. This caused some backlash among the public, prompting some groups to pass around petitions and threaten boycotts against the company, as well as several other prominent retailers that practiced similar obscurations of the holiday. In 2006, in response to the public outcry, Walmart announced that they were amending their policy and would be using "Christmas" rather than "holiday". Among the changes, they noted that the former "Holiday Shop" would become the "Christmas Shop", and that there would be a "countin' down the days to Christmas" feature. * In 2005,

Target Corporation Target Corporation ( doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a com ...

was criticized by the American Family Association for their decision not to use the term "Christmas" in any of their in-store, online, or print advertising. * When it was revealed in November 2006 that Walmart would be using the term "Christmas" in their advertising campaign, an article about the issue initiated by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' pointed out that Best Buy Corporation would be among the retailers that would not be using "Christmas" at all in their advertising that year. Dawn Bryant, a Best Buy spokeswoman, stated: "We are going to continue to use the term holiday because there are several holidays throughout that time period, and we certainly need to be respectful of all of them." The AFA launched a campaign against Best Buy's policy. In reaction to the same policy, the Catholic League placed Best Buy on its 2006 Christmas Watch List. * In late October 2008, U.S. hardware retailer

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

was criticized by the AFA for using terms such as "holiday" and "Hanukkah" on their website, but avoiding the term "Christmas". The retailer responded by saying they will be adjusting their website to make references to Christmas more prominent.

Snopes ''Snopes'' , formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source f ...

later stated that the AFA's characterization of Home Depot's advertising was false, as the retailer's advertising had initially included several instances of the word "Christmas". * On 11 November 2009, the AFA called for a "limited two-month boycott" of Gap, Inc. over what they claimed was the "company's censorship of the word 'Christmas.'" In an advertising campaign launched by Gap on 12 November, the term "Christmas" was both spoken and printed on their website at least once, and a television ad entitled "Go Ho Ho" featured lyrics such as "Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice" and "whatever holiday you wanna-kah". On 17 November, AFA responded to this campaign by condemning the ads for references to the "pagan holiday" of

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

, and declined to call off the boycott. On 24 November, the AFA ended the boycott, after learning from Gap's corporate vice president of communications that the company planned to launch a new commercial with a "very strong Christmas theme".

2010s

* In November 2010, the word "Christmas" on two signs at Philadelphia's Christmas Village was removed by the organizers after complaints, but restored three days later after the mayor intervened. * In 2014, Northwest University closed the campus completely on Christmas Eve, and all the requests for leave were rejected by the school officials. * In November 2015, the coffee shop chain Starbucks introduced Christmas-themed cups colored in solid red and containing no ornamentation besides the Starbucks logo, contrasting previous designs which featured winter-related imagery, and non-religious Christmas symbols such as

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

and

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

. On 5November, a video was posted on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

by evangelist and self-proclaimed "

social media personality An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

" Joshua Feuerstein, in which he accused Starbucks of "hating Jesus" by removing Christmas-oriented imagery from the cup, followed by him "tricking" a barista into writing "Merry Christmas" on the cup, and encouraging others to do the same. The video became a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

, spurring discussions and commentary: businessman and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

2016 president-candidate (later elected)

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

supported Feuerstein's claim by suggesting a boycott of Starbucks, saying that "If I become president, we're all going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' again." Many social media users, including other Christians, perceived the criticism to be an overreaction. In contrast to the controversy, the color red has been associated with Christmas since at least the 19th century, and is often present in

Christmas decorations A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastide and the greater holiday season. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Gold and silver are also very co ...

and Christian services, such as the red ribbon that is tied around the

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

used for Christingles. Also in 2015,

Resolution 564 Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

received 36 sponsors including

Doug Lamborn Douglas Lawrence Lamborn (born May 24, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. His district is based in Colorado Springs. Early life and career Born ...

to assert Christmas in public. Newt Gingrich's stance of defence against the supposed "War on Christmas" resonated in popular culture for years.

Canada

In 2007, a controversy arose when a public school in Ottawa, Ontario, planned to have the children in its primary choir sing a version of the song "Silver Bells" with the word "Christmas" replaced by "festive"; the concert also included the songs "Candles of Christmas" and "It's Christmas" with the original lyrics. In 2011, in Embrun, Ontario, near Ottawa, some parents were displeased when a school replaced the Christmas concert it had held in previous years with a craft sale and winter concert scheduled for February.

United Kingdom

Christmas in Birmingham - Winterval poster 1998

In the United Kingdom, the temporary promotion of the phrase

Winterval Winterval was a season of public events in Birmingham, England, organised by Birmingham City Council in each of two consecutive winters: first from 20 November to 31 December 1997, and then again from mid-October 1998 to mid-January 1999. The in ...

for a whole season of events (first from 20 November to 31 December 1997 and then from Halloween to the Chinese New Year in January) by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

in the late 1990s remains a controversial example of "Christmas controversy". Critics attack the use of the word "Winterval" as being "political correctness gone mad", and accuse council officials of trying to take the Christ out of Christmas. The council responded to the criticism by stating that Christmas-related words and symbols were prominent in its publicity material: "there was a banner saying Merry Christmas across the front of the council house, Christmas lights, Christmas trees in the main civil squares, regular carol-singing sessions by school choirs, and the Lord Mayor sent a Christmas card with a traditional Christmas scene wishing everyone a Merry Christmas" In November 2009, the city council of Dundee was accused of banning Christmas because it promoted its celebrations as the Winter Night Light festival, initially with no specific references to Christianity. Local church leaders were invited to participate in the event, and they did.

South Africa

The Christian holidays of

and Good Friday remained in secular post-apartheid South Africa's calendar of public holidays. The

Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) is an independent chapter nine institution in South Africa. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitu ...

(CRL Rights Commission), a

chapter nine institution Chapter Nine Institutions refer to a group of organisations established in terms of Chapter 9 of the South African Constitution of South Africa, Constitution to guard democracy. The institutions are: * the Public Protector * the South African Human ...

established in 2004, held countrywide consultative public hearings in June and July 2012 to assess the need for a review of public holidays following the receipt of complaints from minority groups about unfair discrimination. The CRL Rights Commission stated that they would submit their recommendations to the

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, the

Department of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

, various Portfolio Committees and the Office of the Presidency by October 2012. The CRL Rights Commission published its recommendations on 17 April 2013, including the scrapping of some existing public holidays to free up days for some non-Christian religious public holidays.

Norway

The common practice of schoolchildren visiting local churches for Christmas services in December is opposed by the

Norwegian Humanist Association The Norwegian Humanist Association ( no, Human-Etisk Forbund; HEF) is one of the largest secular humanist associations in the world, with over 130,000 members. Those members constitute 2.3% of the national population of 5.47 million, making HEF b ...

, the

Children's Ombudsman A children's ombudsman, children's commissioner, youth commissioner, child advocate, children's commission, youth ombudsman or equivalent body is a public authority in various countries charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of chil ...

and by the Union of Education. There have been several local controversies over the issue. The political parties have mostly been in favor of this being decided by the schools themselves, but the government has underlined that schools who participate in Christmas services must offer an alternative for pupils who do not want to attend and that services must not take place on the day that marks the closing of schools before the Christmas holiday. The

Solberg's Cabinet The Solberg Cabinet was the government of the Kingdom of Norway, headed by Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg as Prime Minister from 16 October 2013 to 14 October 2021. The government was appointed by King Harald V on 16 October 2013 followin ...

says in its government declaration that it looks positively upon schools taking part in services in churches before religious holidays. According to a 2013 poll by Norstat for '' Vårt Land'', 68% of Norwegians support having school-arranged Christmas services, while 14% are opposed. 17% do not hold any opinion on the issue.

Sweden

A 2011 school law stating that public schools should be non-confessional led to debate over what this meant for the tradition that schools gather in churches in December to celebrate Advent, Lucia or Christmas. Eighty thousand Swedes signed a 2012 protest letter (''Adventsuppropet'') initiated by the newspaper '' Dagen'' to Minister for Education

Jan Björklund Jan Arne Björklund (born 18 April 1962) is a Swedish Liberal politician. He was member of the Riksdag from 2006 to 2019, representing Stockholm County, and served as leader of the Liberals from 2007 to 2019. Björklund served as Minister for ...

, demanding that school visits to churches should still be allowed to include religious rituals. The minister clarified that church visits before Christmas might include the singing of Christmas hymns and a priest talking about the Christmas gospel, but common prayers and reading a

Confession of Faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The e ...

would violate the law. In 2012, Sveriges Radio reported that about one in six schools had changed the way they mark Christmas traditions as a result of the new law.

Christmas tree

The Soviet Union, and certain other Communist regimes, banned Christmas observances in accordance with the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of

. In the 1920s USSR, the

encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions such as the Christmas tree and the country rehashed the Christmas tree as the

New Year tree New Year trees are decorated trees similar to Christmas trees that are displayed to specifically celebrate the New Year. They should not be confused with the practice of leaving up a Christmas tree until after New Year's Day (traditionally until ...

, devoid of its Christian associations. Since the 1980s, there have been instances in the United States and Canada when officials used the term "holiday tree" to refer to what is commonly called a " Christmas tree". Reaction to such nomenclature has been mixed. In 2005, when the city of Boston labeled their official decorated tree as a holiday tree, the Nova Scotian tree farmer who donated the tree responded that he would rather have put the tree in a wood chipper than have it named a "holiday" tree. In 2009 in West Jerusalem, the Lobby for Jewish Values, with support of the Jerusalem Rabbinate, handed out fliers condemning Christmas and called for a boycott of "restaurants and hotels that sell or put up Christmas trees and other 'foolish' Christian symbols". The

Brussels Christmas tree The Christmas tree in the Grand-Place in 1979 The Brussels Christmas tree is a Christmas tree erected annually in the Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium. It has traditionally been a real tree either from the Ardennes forest, from the city of Helsinki ...

in the Belgian capital sparked controversy in December 2012, as it was part of renaming the Christmas Market as "Winter Pleasures". Local opposition saw it as appeasement of the Muslim minority in the city. Efforts have also been made to rename official public holiday trees as "Christmas trees". In 2002, a bill was introduced in the California Senate to rename the State Holiday Tree the California State Christmas Tree; while this measure did not pass, at the official lighting of the tree on 4December 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to the tree as a Christmas tree in his remarks and in the press release his office issued after the ceremony. Schwarzenegger had previously ended the secular practice of calling it a "holiday tree" in 2004 during the 73rd annual lighting. The name change was in honor of the late Senator William "Pete" Knight. Schwarzenegger said at Knight's funeral that he would change the name back to Christmas tree. Knight had lobbied unsuccessfully to change the name after Governor Davis decided to call it a holiday tree. The Michigan Senate had a debate in 2005 over whether the decorated tree in front of the Michigan Capitol would continue to be called a holiday tree (as it had been since the early 1990s) or named a Christmas tree. The question was revisited in 2006, when the bipartisan Michigan Capitol Committee voted unanimously to use the term Christmas tree. And in 2007, Wisconsin lawmakers considered whether to rename the tree in the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda, a holiday tree since 1985, the Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.

Rejection among certain groups

Atheism

With the atheistic

in power during the era of

, Christian Christmas church services were banned and the

was forcibly renamed the "equality cake" under antireligious government policies. In the former Eastern Bloc, where governments implemented the policy of

, Christmas and other religious holidays were "effectively banned". The

organized alternate festivals "specifically to denigrate religious holidays" in the USSR. In the United States, some atheists choose to celebrate Christmas fully, while others celebrate only portions of the holiday, and others reject it completely. In China, which is officially an atheist state, some officials in 2018 raided Christian churches just prior to Christmas and forced them to close.

Islam

The celebration of Christmas has occasionally been criticized by Muslims in Turkey. Turkey has adopted a secular version of Christmas and a Santa Claus figure named ''Noel Baba'' (from the French

Père Noël Père Noël (), "Father Christmas", sometimes called 'Papa Noël' ("Daddy Christmas"), is a legendary gift-bringer at Christmas in France and other French-speaking areas, identified with the Father Christmas and/or Santa Claus of English-spe ...

). During the 2013 holiday season, a Muslim youth group launched an anti-Santa Claus campaign, protesting against the celebration of Christmas in the country. In December 2015, political and religious activists organized protests against the growing influence of Christmas and Santa Claus in Turkish society. In Indonesia, some radicalists proposing December 25th as "World Moslem Convert Day" (''Hari Muallaf Sedunia''), even though some people dismiss this idea as asinine and dangerous.

Restorationist Movement

Some churches, sects, and communities of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (17 ...

reject the observance of Christmas for theological reasons; these include Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongites, the

True Jesus Church The True Jesus Church (TJC) is a non-denominational Christian Church that originated in Beijing, China, during the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century. The True Jesus Church is currently one of the largest Christian groups in Chin ...

, The Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Church of God (Seventh-Day), the Iglesia ni Cristo, the Christian Congregation in Brazil, the

Christian Congregation in the United States The Christian Congregation is a non-denominational fellowship of assemblies with roots in the Italian Pentecostal revival in Chicago, which began in 1907. It can be found, for example, in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, the United States, Mozambique ...

, and the Churches of Christ, as well as certain reformed and

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...

churches of various persuasions, including some

Independent Baptists Independent Baptist churches (some also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse af ...

and

Oneness Pentecostals Oneness Pentecostalism (also known as Apostolic, Jesus' Name Pentecostalism, or the Jesus Only movement) is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its distinctiv ...

Xmas

The December 1957 ''News and Views'' published by the Church League of America, a conservative organization founded in 1937, attacked the use of

Xmas Xmas (also X-mas) is a common abbreviation of the word ''Christmas''. It is sometimes pronounced , but ''Xmas'', and variants such as ''Xtemass'', originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation . The "X" comes from the Gre ...

in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity". The claims were picked up later by

Gerald L. K. Smith Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898 – April 15, 1976) was an American clergyman, politician and organizer known for his populist and far-right demagoguery. A leader of the populist Share Our Wealth movement during the Great Depressio ...

, who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity." Smith further argued that Jews introduced Santa Claus to suppress the New Testament accounts of Jesus, and that the United Nations, at the behest of "world Jewry", had "outlawed the name of Christ". There is, however, a well-documented history of use of ''Χ'' (actually a chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός) and possibly also a symbol of the cross. The abbreviation appears on many Orthodox Christian religious icons.