Merry Christmas 2024: Festival history, significance, tradition, and more

Sudeep Singh Rawat New Delhi

This year, the festival will fall on Wednesday. People will come together with their families and communities to enjoy the spirit of generosity, kindness and togetherness.

Christmas 2024: History

The origins of Christmas could be traced back to ancient Roman Saturnalia, a pagan festival of feasting and gift-giving. By the 4th century, the Church is said to have adopted December 25 as Jesus’s birth date to “christianize” these festivities.

Traditions evolved with cultural influences as medieval Europe introduced nativity plays, while the Victorian era popularized Christmas trees and carolling. Santa Claus emerged from St. Nicholas’s legend of generosity.

Today, Christmas blends religious observance with secular joy, symbolizing peace, love, and unity, celebrated worldwide through decorations, feasts, and exchanges of gifts. Christmas 2024: Best Christmas movies to watch this holiday season

Christmas 2024: Significance

The story of Christmas begins when the angel Gabriel visited Mother Mary to announce that she would bear a child, Jesus, through divine will.

Then, Mary and Father Joseph travelled to Bethlehem, where Mother Mary gave birth to Jesus in a humble stable and placed in a manger.

Christmas in India 2024: Date and Timings

Every year, Christmas is observed on December 25th. This year, it falls on Wednesday. The celebration begins on Christmas eve with many participating in midnight mass or church service starting midnight on December 24 which will continue to the early hours of December 25th.