Christmas

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The Feast of Christmas
It is not easy to pin-point the origins of the Christmas feast, today the more important feast of the Christmas season in most western Christian churches. One can only say for certain that the birth of Jesus Christ was being celebrated in Rome by the year 336 A.D.; afterwards the feast was celebrated in other Christian churches throughout the world.

Why it was celebrated on December 25th is another question. No date for the birth of Jesus can be found in the New Testament, which is concerned more with the question "Who is Jesus?" than the date of his birth. Early Christian speculation about his birth date was influenced by the symbolism of the changing seasons, then popular in religious thought, which paid careful attention to the equinoxes and solstices of the sun. Christian scholars speculated that Jesus was conceived at the spring equinox (March 25th) and therefore was born on December 25th, the date of the winter solstice.

In many of the Christian churches, March 25th is still the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus.

Possible impluse for the feast of Christmas may have came too from the establishment of the pagan feast of the "Unconquered Sun-God" by the Emperor Aurelian in 274 A.D. to be celebrated on December 25, the day of the winter solstice in Rome and throughout the empire. In response, Christians could celebrate the feast of the "Sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4,2), Jesus Christ, who called himself " the light of the world."

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Songs

The following songs are the christmas songs adepetd from the video.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas
Traditional.

The first day of Christmas is December 25th;the twefth is Epiphany.
1 On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:A partridge in a pear tree.
2 On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me:Two turtle doves,and a partridge in a pear tree.
3 On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me:Three French hens,two turtle doves,and a partridge in a pear tree.
4 ¡­Four calling birds ¡­
5 ¡­Five golden rings ¡­
6 ¡­Six geese a-laying ¡­
7 ¡­Seven swans a-swimming ¡­
8 ¡­Eight maids a-milking ¡­
9 ¡­Nine ladies dancing ¡­
10 ¡­Ten lords a-leaping ¡­
11 ¡­Eleven pipers piping ¡­
12 ¡­Twelve drummers drumming ¡­
Lyrics in Public Domain (Hazen,Katzmarek,Zimmerman)

O Christmas Tree
German Folk Song
1 O Christmas tree,O Chistmas tree,
How lovely are your branches.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches.
Not only green when summer glows,
But in the winter when it snows.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Your leaves are faithful ever.

2 O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.
The sight of thee at Christmastide
Spreads hope and gladness far and wide.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.

3 O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Thou hast a wondrous message.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Thou hast a wondrous message.
Thou dost proclaim the Savior's birth,
Good will to men and peace on earth.
Thou hast a wondrous message.
O Christmas tree,O Christmas tree,
Thou hast a wondrous message.
Lyrics in Public Domain (Hazen,Katzmarek)

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
English traditional
We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
And a happy New Year!

Good tidings19 we bring to you your kin,20
Good tidings for Chirstmas and a happy New Year.
Lyrics in Public Domain (Hazen,Katzmarek)

http://www.marvelicious.com/xmas1.html
http://curiouscastle.com/christmas/christmas1.html
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/xintro.html
http://www.sights-n-sounds.org/sightsandsounds.html
http://members.shaw.ca/kigraham/xmasintr.html