CHURCH-GOERS believe Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah sent from Heaven to save the world.
The Christmas story tells of the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem, the angels announcing the birth to the shepherds in the fields, and the Magi visiting the stable and offering gifts to the newborn child.
While Protestant and Catholic churches hold Christmas Day services on December 25, the Eastern churches, the Ethiopian Orthodox church, Russian Orthodox church and the Armenian church celebrate Christmas on January 6 or 7.
There have been rituals, parties and celebrations held around these dates for thousands of years.
A Roman almanac confirms that December 25 was used to celebrate Christmas in 336 AD, although it was nearly 600 years later that the churches created a liturgy, a service for public worship for the occasion.
The choice of date is believed to have been influenced by the northern hemisphere winter solstice, as well as ancient pagan rituals that coincided with the solstice.
These rituals included the Halcyon Days in Greece, a period of calm and goodwill when it was believed the sea was calm for birds to lay their eggs; and the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, a celebration of the god Saturn, which involved wild parties, the exchange of gifts and the temporary suspension of social divisions between slaves and masters.
Source: australia.gov.au
