the name christmas is short for "christ\'s mass". a mass is a kind of church service. christmas is a religious festival. it is the day we celebrate as the birthday of jesus. there are special christmas services in christian churches all over the world. but many of the festivities of christmas do not have anything to do with religion. exchanging gifts and sending christmas cards are the modern ways of celebrating the christmas in the world.
the birth of jesus had a story: in nazareth, a city of galilee. the virgin\'s name was mary was betrothed to joseph. before they came together, she was found with child of the holy spirit. joseph her husband was minded to put her away secretly. while he thought about these things, gabriel, an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream and told him did not be afraid to take mary as wife. and mary will bring forth a son, and he shall call his name, jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
before jesus births, joseph and mary came to quirnius was governing syria. so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. joseph also went up out of galilee, out of the city of nazareth, into judea, to the city of david, which is called bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the lineage of david, to be registered with mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to bedelivered. and she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
and that, christmas is the feast of the nativity of jesus, is on 25th, december every year. but nobody know the actual birthday of jesus. and the christmas has become popular when christmas cards appeared in 1846 and the concept of a jolly santa claus was first made popular in nineteenth century.
Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. It is traditionally celebrated on December 25 by most Western Christian churches. Although dating to probably as early as a.d. 200, the feast of Christmas did not become widespread until the Middle Ages. Aspects of celebration may include gift-giving, Christmas trees, display of Nativity sets, church attendance, the Father Christmas/Santa Claus myth, and family gatherings. The word Christmas is derived from Middle English Christemasse. It is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass". The name of the holiday is often shortened to Xmas because Roman letter "X" resembles the Greek letter X, an abbreviation for Christ.
圣诞节是庆祝天主教中心人物耶稣诞生的节日，通常西方天主教堂在12月25日庆祝。圣诞节最早可追溯到公元200年，但直到中世纪才开始广泛流传。圣诞节庆祝活动包括赠送礼物、圣诞树、摆耶稣系列雕像、参加教堂活动、圣诞老人传说、家庭聚会等。Christmas一词来源于中世纪英语Christemasse，大概的意思是耶稣的弥撒。有时候圣诞节被写成Xmas，因为罗马字母X和希腊文Chirst的缩写X很相似。
圣诞习俗
Christmas is a joyful religious holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. To people all over the world, Christmas is a season of giving and receiving presents. In some European countries, Father Christmas, or Saint Claus, comes into houses in the night and leaves gifts for the children. Saint Nicholas
is represented as a kindly man with a red cloak and long white beard.
Most children believe that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. All year he lists the names of children, both those who have been good and those who have been bad. He decides what presents to give to the good children. Each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace. Santa entered down the chimney and
left candy and presents inside the socks for the children. On the morning of Christmas day. Each child can't wait to open his or her eyes to see what Santa has left in the stocking.
Christmas Cards
Another important custom of Christmas is to send and receive Christmas cards, which are meant to help express the sentiment of the season. Americans begin sending Christmas cards early in December to friends,
acquaintances, and co-workers. The post office advises customers to mail early in the season and avoid the Christmas rush. Some people heed the advice; others wait until the last minute and then are upset when their loved ones have not received the greeting card or the present which they sent.
参考资料：其他人