[00:07.31]UNIT7
[00:12.78]A History of Christmas
[00:15.63]Christmas is the most cheerful
[00:19.56]and holy of holidays
[00:21.86]in the Christian world,
[00:23.29]which boasts of an
[00:24.93]estimated 1.8 billion people.
[00:27.23]Although the origin of this holiday
[00:30.62] was purely religious, it
[00:33.02]has evolved into a highly
[00:34.99]secular celebration each year.
[00:37.73]However, strong religious
[00:40.24]components are still conveyed
[00:42.10]in various ways each year.
[00:44.51]The two are intrinsically mixed
[00:46.80]in the midst of
[00:48.56]modern commercialism and attached to.
[00:50.31]Christmas day falls on
[00:55.23]December 25th each year,
[00:57.09]celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ,
[01:00.48]the son of a carpenter
[01:02.89]living over, the movement
[01:04.75]following the teachings of Christ,
[01:10.11]roused the world over
[01:12.19]the next many centuries.
[01:13.83] It is said that the first celebration
[01:16.56]of Christmas took place
[01:18.32] in 336 A.D. in Ancient Rome.
[01:22.69]No one seems to know
[01:24.99]for sure if December 25th
[01:26.30]was actually the date
[01:27.94] of Christ’s birth, but it is
[01:30.35]possible that Christian leaders
[01:32.43]in Ancient Rome wanted
[01:34.29]to replace pagan religious holidays
[01:36.59]that occurred around the same time.
[01:38.88]Many secular symbols of
[01:42.83]Christmas have emerged
[01:44.47]over several centuries.
[01:46.10]Santa Claus, in his present form,
[01:48.40] is a fairly recent development
[01:52.12]whereas his origin, in part,
[01:54.75] goes back to Roman times |