Religious Historical Facts, Figures and Trivia

Facts about the Religious Aspect of Christmas

• Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year. It is the four weeks before Christmas beginning on November 30 or the nearest Sunday to it. This is the Church's New Year's Day. The word Advent comes from the Latin 'adventus' which means 'arrival' or 'coming'. This time for Christians is a season of hope and the period of preparation for celebration of the birth of Jesus. They also look forward to the time that Jesus will come again.
• Christmas wreaths of holly and berries are believed to represent Christ’s thorns and blood.
• December 25th was not celebrated as the birthday of Christ until the year AD / ACE 440.
• During Advent there are no flowers decorating the church, but it is customary to have an Advent Crown also known as an Advent Wreath. These are made from a circle of evergreen plants such as holly and ivy. This symbolises God with no beginning or end. The evergreen is a reminder that God does not change. The holly is also a symbol of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. Four candles are fixed round the circle and another is placed in the middle.
• In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551, which has not yet been repealed, states that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the service.
• Pope Julius I declared Christ’s birthday as December 25th sometime during the 4th century.
• Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus, was the patron saint of children, thieves and pawnbrokers.
• The candles act as reminders to Christians: The first candle is the candle of 'Hope', so prayers on this day focus on hope. This candle represents the 'Patriarchs' such as Abraham and David; The second candle is a symbol of God's 'Peace'. This candle reminds Christians of the Prophets who foretold that the Messiah would be born; The third candle represents 'Love' and stands for John the Baptist who baptised Jesus; The fourth candle symbolises 'Joy' and when this candle is lit Christians remember Mary the mother of Jesus who was joyful when the angel Gabriel told her she was to have a special baby; The fifth candle reminds Christians of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.
• The clergy usually wear purple or royal blue vestments in their churches during Advent. This is a picture of a Church of England vicar in his vestments for the second Sunday of Advent service.
• The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass."
• There is no set date for His birth in scripture and it wasn't celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim to replacing the popular pagan winter solstice celebrations
• The twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany (6th of January) and represent the length of time it took for the wise men from the East to visit the manger of Jesus after his birth.
• Popular belief holds that 3 wise men visited Bethlehem from the east bearing gifts. However there is no mention in the bible about the number of wise men who visited.
• Three gifts were brought - gold, frankincense and myrrh, but names commonly attributed to the wise men - Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar were added some 500 years later.
• The 26th of December is traditionally known as St Stephen's Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. The reason it was called this is either alms boxes in church were opened and the money distributed to the poor, or alternatively it was named from the practice of servants receiving boxes of gifts from their employers on this day.
• English Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.
• Various colours of candles have been used such as three purple and a pink with one white in the middle. The unlit candles represent darkness. One purple candle is lit on the first Sunday of Advent. On the second Sunday it is lit again together with another purple one, the third purple one is lit on the third Sunday and on the fourth Sunday the pink candle is included. On Christmas Day the white candle is also lit representing Jesus Christ as the light of the world. A recent idea is to use four red candles and one white, red being a colour associated with Christmas.

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