Christians across the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ today. Christmas or Xmas is however celebrated now both by Christians and non-Christians and that is largely due to the mythical and jolly figure of Santa Claus – much loved by the old and the young. Christmas or “mass on Jesus Christ’s day” as the English call it is of fairly recent origin. Earlier it was called Yule, which came from the winter solstice celebrations and people used to exchange ‘Yuletide Greetings’. How December 25 became the birthday of Jesus Christ is not quite clear and there are many theories about it. The religious text of the Christians – The New Testament – gives no clear indication. Sextus Julius Africanus, a historian, in 221 is said to have identified December 25 as the birthday of Christ and since then it was universally accepted as Christmas Day.
