Christmas

Christmas is a holiday in Christianity.

People who believe in Christianity are called Christians. There are Christians all over the world. Christmas is celebrated in many different countries.

Christians believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ was a man who lived 2,000 years ago in the Middle East. His teachings were collected in the Bible. Christians around the world follow these teachings today.

On Christmas, Christians celebrate the story of Jesus Christ's birth. Another important Christian holiday, Easter, celebrates the story of Jesus coming back from the dead.

In the Bible, wise men brought gifts to Jesus after he was born. Some people call the wise men "kings" instead. In the story, the wise men brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. At the time, these were rare gifts. Giving gifts is still part of the Christmas tradition.

The word "Christmas" comes from Old English. Old English was a language used 1,000 years ago. It came before the English language we use today. In Old English, the word Cristes means Jesus Christ. The word maesse means mass. A "mass" is a church service. So, Christmas means a church service about Jesus Christ. The word "mass" is mostly used for Catholic church services. Catholicism is a type of Christianity.

In the 400s, church leaders picked December 25 as the day to celebrate Christmas. They chose December 25 because it was the same time of year as other non-Christian holidays.

Some countries celebrate Christmas on January 7. Those countries have many Christians who are Orthodox. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar for their holidays. The Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the one most people in the world use.