We celebrate Christmas Day on December 25th every year. We know that Christmas is a holiday and just typically enjoy the festivities, but many people do not know very much about Christmas. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh (Hey!)” This song is ‘Jingle Bells’, one of the most famous carols, but did you know that Jingle Bells was a song intended for Thanksgiving Day? Jingle Bells is a song that was written and composed by James Pierpont in the middle of the 19th century. He wrote this song for a performance of Thanksgiving celebrations. The title of this song was ‘The One Horse Open Sleigh’ at that time.
  Christmas is also written as Xmas. The letter ‘X’ represents the Greek letter ‘chi’, which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Christos. ‘Mas’ was from the Latin-derived Old English word for mass. When writing, it is normal to write Xmas, but you should pronounce it ‘Christmas’ rather than ‘ex-mas.’
  Many people think Christmas is the memorial day of Christ’s birth. There is no precise record of that, but according to the Bible, the birth of Jesus was at a time when the shepherds were tending to their flocks, which would have been spring and not winter. December 25th was a day of worship for the sun god. Then why is it common knowledge that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus? The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336 B.C., during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th of December. In the 19th century, Santa Claus and Christmas cards appeared which helped spur on the popularity of the day. Additionally, the reason for celebrating on Xmas Eve, the evening before Christmas, is that early Christianity defined a day as sunset to sunset.
  In fact, Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christmas. Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, was the Archbishop of Turkey. St. Nicholas secretly performed good deeds. Stories of his kindness spread across Europe and were passed around the world after his death. In the beginning of the 12th century, the nuns of France spread the tradition of helping others and giving gifts to the poor to honor the memory of St. Nicholas. In the 19th century, the poem, ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’ by Clement C. Moore was responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus, like riding a sleigh led by eight reindeers.
  The image of today’s Santa Claus stems from Coca-Cola’s advertising. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer was also a character created by advertising. An American copywriter, Robert May, described the reindeer’s nose as red and named Rudolph after the doll he played with. Also, he wrote a story of Rudolph being bullied by other reindeers, and that character was used in an advertisement for Montgomery Ward, a large department store in the U.S.
  How do other countries around the world celebrate Christmas? Americans regard Christmas as important because about 80% of the population is composed of Protestants and Catholics. In the week of Christmas, family members make bread, cookies, puddings, etc., and they gather in front of the fireplace to share Christmas stories. On the other hand, in the southern hemisphere or warm areas of the world like Hawaii, there are many people looking for a beach around Christmas time. Hawaiian children believe that dolphins push Santa’s sled instead of Rudolph. Also, 90% of the Filipinos are Catholic, and Christmas is considered as their biggest anniversary, so they prepare for this day for two months. A Chinese exchange student, Won Jae-jung(’17, Dept. of Biology), said, “Even on Christmas in China, we must go to school. We can feel the Christmas atmosphere only in the streets of some big cities. Our country differs from region to region, but in my hometown of Jinan in the Shandong Province, we do not celebrate Christmas.” In honor of Christmas, Hong Kong has tax cuts for the best decorated buildings with neon signs.
  People around the world spend Christmas in different ways. How about celebrating   Christmas together with family, friends and loved ones, even if it’s not a special day for you? I hope you enjoy your Christmas this year. Happy Christmas!

By Kim Min-jeong
mj38@cbnu.ac.kr