See also:

• CHRISTMAS (i.e. the Mass of Christ)

CHRISTMAS (i.e. the See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

Mass of See also:

• CHRIST (Gr. X pLQTOS, Anointed)
• CHRIST, WILHELM VON (1831-1906)

Christ)  , in the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

Church, the festival of the nativity of Jesus See also:

• CHRIST (Gr. X pLQTOS, Anointed)
• CHRIST, WILHELM VON (1831-1906)

Christ . The See also:

• HISTORY

history of this feast coheres so closely with that of See also:

• EPIPHANY, FEAST OF

Epiphany (q.v.), that what follows must be read in connexion with the See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article under that heading . The earliest See also:

• BODY

body of See also:

• GOSPEL (O. Eng. godspel, i.e. good news, a translation of Lat. bona annuntiatio, or evangelium, Gr. evayyeXwv; cf. Goth. iu spillon, " to announce good news," Ulfilas' translation of the Greek, from iu, that which is good, and spellon to announce)

gospel tradition, represented by See also:

• MARK
• MARK, CARL (1858– )
• MARK, GOSPEL OF ST
• MARK, ST

Mark no less than by the See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive non-Marcan document embodied in the first and third gospels, begins,not with the See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth and childhood of Jesus, but with his See also:

• BAPTISM

baptism; and this See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order of See also:

• ACCRETION (from Lat. ad, to, and crescere, to grow)

accretion of gospel See also:

• MATTER

matter is faithfully reflected in the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time order of the invention.of feasts . The See also:

• GREAT

great church adopted See also:

• CHRISTMAS (i.e. the Mass of Christ)

Christmas much later than Epiphany; and before the 5th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century there was no See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general consensus of See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion as to when it should come in the See also:

• CALENDAR

calendar, whether on the 6th of See also:

• JANUARY

January, or the 25th of See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

March, or the 25th of See also:

• DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December . The earliest See also:

• IDENTIFICATION (Lat. idem, the same)

identification of the 25th of December with the birthday of Christ is in a passage, otherwise unknown and probably See also:

• SPURIOUS

spurious, of See also:

• THEOPHILUS

Theophilus of See also:

• ANTIOCH

Antioch (A.D . 171—183), preserved in Latin by the See also:

• MAGDEBURG

Magdeburg centuriators (i . 3, 118), to the effect that the Gauls contended that as they celebrated the birth of the See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord on the 25th of December, whatever See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day of the See also:

• WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=change, turn)

week it might be, so they ought to celebrate the Pascha on the 25th of March when the resurrection befell . The next mention of the 25th of December is in See also:

• HIPPOLYTUS
• HIPPOLYTUS, THE CANONS OF

Hippolytus' (c . 202) commentary on See also:

• DANIEL
• DANIEL (DANIL)
• DANIEL, BOOK
• DANIEL, GABRIEL (1649-1728)

Daniel iv . 23 . Jesus, he says, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at See also:

• BETHLEHEM
• BETHLEHEM (Heb. " House of Bread," or, according to a more questionable etymology, " of [the god] Lakhmu ")

Bethlehem on the 25th of December, a Wednesday, in the See also:

• FORTY

forty-second See also:

• YEAR

year of See also:

• AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

Augustus . This passage also is almost certainly interpolated .

In any See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case he mentions no feast, nor was such a feast See also:

• CONGRUOUS (from Lat. congruere, to agree)

congruous with the orthodox ideas of that See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age . As See also:

• LATE

late as 245 See also:

• ORIGEN (c. 185-c. 254)

Origen, in his eighth See also:

• HOMILY

homily on See also:

• LEVITICUS

Leviticus, repudiates as sinful the very See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of keeping the birthday of Christ " as if he were a See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king See also:

• PHARAOH (Par'oh)

Pharaoh." The first certain mention of Dec . 25 is in a Latin chronographer of A.D . 3J4, first published entire by See also:

• MOMMSEN, THEODOR (1817–1903)

Mommsen.i It runs thus in See also:

• ENGLISH

English: " Year r after Christ, in the consulate of See also:

• CAESAR, GAIUS JULIUS (102—44 B.c.)
• CAESAR, SIR JULIUS (1557-1558-1636)

Caesar and See also:

• PAULUS
• PAULUS (older form PAur.Lus), LUCIUS AEMILIUS
• PAULUS, HEINRICH

Paulus, the Lord Jesus Christ was born on the 25th of December, a See also:

• FRIDAY (A.S. frige-dreg, fr. frige, gen. of frigu, love, or the goddess of love—the Norse Frigg,—the dreg, day; cf. Icelandic frjddagr, O.H. Ger. friatag, frigatag, mod. Ger. Freitag)

Friday and 15th day of the new See also:

• MOON (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Mond, Du. maan, Dan. maane, &c., and cognate with such Indo-Germanic forms as Gr. µlip, Sans. ma's, Irish mi, &c.; Lat. uses luna, i.e. lucna, the shining one, lucere, to shine, for the moon, but preserves the word i
• MOON, SIR RICHARD, 1ST BARONET (1814-1899)

moon." Here again no festal celebration of the day is attested . There were, however, many speculations in the 2nd century about the date of Christ's birth . See also:

• CLEMENT (Lat. Clemens, i.e. merciful; Gr. K)4gs)
• CLEMENT, FRANCOIS (1714-1793)
• CLEMENT, JACQUES (1567-1589)

Clement of See also:

• ALEXANDRIA
• ALEXANDRIA (Arab. Iskenderia)

Alexandria, towards its See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close, mentions several such, and condemns them as superstitions . Some chronologists, he says, alleged the birth to have In the Abhandlungen der stichsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (185o) . See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

Note that in A.D . 1, Dec . 25 was a See also:

• SUNDAY

Sunday and not a Friday.occurred in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus, on the 25th of Pachon, the See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian See also:

• MONTH
• MONTH (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Mond, Du. maand, Dan. maaned, &c., and cognate with Lat. mensis, Gr. µi7v, &c., in other branches of the Indo-Germanic family; all ultimately from the root seen in the word for the moon in nearly all those languages

month, i.e. the loth of May . These were probably the Basilidian gnostics . Others set it on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi, i.e. the 19th or loth of See also:

• APRIL

April .

Clement himself sets it on the r7th of See also:

• NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November, 3 B.C . The author of a Latin See also:

• TRACT (from Lat. tractare, to treat of a matter, through Provencal tractat and Ital. trattato)

tract, called the De Pascha computus, written in See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa in 243, sets it by private See also:

• REVELATION, BOOK OF

revelation, ab ipso deo inspirati, on the 28th of March . He argues that the See also:

• WORLD

world was created perfect, See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers in See also:

• BLOOM (from A.S. bloma, a flower)

bloom, and trees in See also:

• LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf, therefore in See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring; also at the See also:

• EQUINOX (from the Lat. aequus, equal, and nox, night)

equinox, and when the moon just created was full . Now the moon and See also:

• SUN
• SUN (0. Eng. sonne, Ger. sonne. Fr. soleil, Lat. sol, Gr. ijXior, from which comes helio- in various English compounds)

sun were created on a Wednesday . The 28th of March suits all these considerations . Christ, therefore, being the Sun of Righteousness, was born on the 28th of March . The same symbolical reasoning led Polycarp2 (before 160) to set his birth on Sunday, when the world's creation began, but his baptism on Wednesday, for it was the analogue of the sun's creation . On such grounds certain Latins as See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early as 354 may have transferred the human birthday from the 6th of January to the 25th of December, which was then a Mithraic feast and is by the chronographer above referred to, but in another See also:

• PART

part of his compilation, termed Natalia invicti See also:

• SOLIS, ANTONIO DE (1610-16S6)

solis, or birthday of the unconquered Sun . See also:

• CYPRIAN, SAINT [Caecilius Cyprianus, called THASCIUS] (c. 200–258)

Cyprian (de orat. dom . 35) calls Christ Sol verus, See also:

• AMBROSE (AMBROISE), AUTPERT (d.' 778)
• AMBROSE (ANDREY SERTIS-KAMENSKIY) (1708-1771)
• AMBROSE (fl. 119o)
• AMBROSE, ISAAC (1604-1663/4)
• AMBROSE, SAINT (c. 340-307)

Ambrose Sol novus mister (Sermo vii . 13), and such See also:

• RHETORIC (Gr. psroperctj TEXvq, the art of the orator)

rhetoric was widespread . The Syrians and Armenians, who clung to the 6th of January, accused the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans of sun-See also:

• WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship and See also:

• IDOLATRY

idolatry, contending with great See also:

• PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability that the feast of the 25th of December had been invented by disciples of See also:

• CERINTHUS (c. A.D. 100)

Cerinthus and its lections by See also:

• ARTEMON (fl. c. A.D. 230)

Artemon to commemorate the natural birth of Jesus .

See also:

• CHRYSOSTOM

Chrysostom also testifies the 25th of December to have been from the beginning known in the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West, from See also:

• THRACE

Thrace even as far as Gades . Ambrose, On Virgins, iii. ch . 1, See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing to his See also:

• SISTER

sister, implies that as late as the papacy of Liberius 352—356, the Birth from the Virgin was feasted together with the See also:

• MARRIAGE

Marriage of See also:

• CANA

Cana and the Banquet of the 4000 (See also:

• LUKE
• LUKE, GOSPEL OF ST

Luke ix . 13), which were never feasted on any other day but See also:

• JAN

Jan . 6 . Chrysostom, in a See also:

• SERMON (Lat. sermo, a discourse)

sermon preached at Antioch on Dec . 20, 386 or 388, says that some held the feast of Dec . 25 to have been held in the West, from Thrace as far as See also:

• CADIZ
• CADIZ (Cadiz)
• CADIZ (in Lat. Gades, and formerly called Cales by the English)

Cadiz, from the beginning . It certainly originated in the West, but spread quickly eastwards . In 353—361 it was observed at the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court of See also:

• CONSTANTIUS, FLAVIUS VALERIUS

Constantius . See also:

• BASIL (Russ. VASILY)

Basil of Caesarea (died 379) adopted it . See also:

• HONORIUS
• HONORIUS, FLAVIUS (384-423)

Honorius, See also:

• EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor (395—423) in the West, informed his See also:

• MOTHER

mother and See also:

• BROTHER

brother See also:

• ARCADIUS
• ARCADIUS (378–408)

Arcadius (395-408) in See also:

• BYZANTIUM

Byzantium of how the new feast was kept in See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome, See also:

• SEPARATE

separate from the 6th of January, with its own troparia and sticharia .

They adopted it, and recommended it to Chrysostom, who had See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long been in favour of it . See also:

• EPIPHANIUS, SAINT (c. 315-402)

Epiphanius of See also:

• CRETE (Gr. Kp;rrrr; Turk. Kirid, Ital. Candia)

Crete was won over to it, as were also the other three patriarchs, Theophilus of Alexandria, See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John of See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem, See also:

• FLAVIAN (d. 449)

Flavian of Antioch . This was under See also:

• POPE (Gr. irarraas, post-classical Lat. papa, father)
• POPE, ALEXANDER (1688–1744)
• POPE, ALEXANDER (1763-1835)
• POPE, JANE (1742-1818)
• POPE, JOHN (1822-1892)
• POPE, SIR THOMAS (c. 1507-1559)

Pope See also:

• ANASTASIUS

Anastasius, 398—400 . John or Wahan of See also:

• NICE

Nice, in a See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter printed by CombefisinhisHistoriamonottrelitarum, affords the above details . The new feast was communicated by See also:

• PROCLUS, or PROCULUS (A.D. 410-485)

Proclus, See also:

• PATRIARCH (M.E. and O. Fr. patriarche, Lat. patriarcha, Gr. aarpuipxtis, from srarptu., clan, and apxil, rule)

patriarch of See also:

• CONSTANTINOPLE
• CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF

Constantinople (434—446), to Sahak, Catholicos of See also:

• ARMENIA (old Persian Armina, Armenian Hayasdan, or Hayq)

Armenia, about 440 . The letter was betrayed to the See also:

• PERSIAN
• PERSIAN, SYRIAN, EGYPTIAN AND TURKISH

Persian king, who accused Sahak of See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek intrigues, and deposed him . However, the Armenians, at least those within the See also:

• BYZANTINE

Byzantine See also:

• PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale, adopted it for about See also:

• THIRTY

thirty years, but finally abandoned it together with the decrees of See also:

• CHALCEDON
• CHALCEDON, COUNCIL OF

Chalcedon early in the 8th century . Many writers of the See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period 375-450, e.g . Epiphanius, Cassian, Asterius, Basil, Chrysostom and See also:

• JEROME, JEROME KLAPKA (1859– )
• JEROME, ST (HIERONYMUS, in full EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS) (c. 340–420)

Jerome, contrast the new feast with that of the Baptism as that of the birth after the flesh, from which we infer that the latter was generally regarded as a birth according to the Spirit . Instructive as showing that the new feast travelled from West eastwards is the fact (noticed by Usener) that in 387 the new feast was reckoned according to the See also:

• JULIAN (FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS) (331-363)

Julian calendar by writers of the See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province of See also:

• ASIA

Asia, who in referring to other feasts use the reckoning of their See also:

• LOCAL

local calendars . As early as 40o in Rome an imperial rescript includes Christmas among the three feasts (the others are See also:

• EASTER

Easter and Epiphany) on which theatres must be closed . Epiphany and Christmas were not made judicial non See also:

• DIES, CHRISTOPH ALBERT (1755-1822)

dies until 534• 2 In a fragment preserved by an Armenian writer, See also:

• ANANIAS

Ananias of Shirak .

For some years in the West (as late as 353 in Rome) the birth feast was appended to the baptismal feast on the 6th of January, and in Jerusalem it altogether supplanted it from about 36o to 440, when See also:

• BISHOP (A.S. bisceop, from Lat. episcopus, Gr. irio-Korros, " overlooker " or " overseer ")
• BISHOP, ISABELLA (1832-1904)
• BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY (1786-1855)

Bishop See also:

• JUVENAL (DECIMUS JUNIUS JUVENALIS) (c. 60-140)

Juvenal introduced the feast of the 25th of December . The new feast was about the same time (440) finally established in Alexandria . The quadragesima of Epiphany (i.e. the feast of the presentation in the See also:

• TEMPLE
• TEMPLE, FREDERICK (1821-1902)
• TEMPLE, RICHARD
• TEMPLE, SIR RICHARD, BART
• TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART

Temple, or hupapante) continued to be celebrated in Jerusalem on the 14th of See also:

• FEBRUARY

February, forty days after the 6th of January, until the reign of Justinian . In most other places it had long before been put back to the 2nd of February to suit the new Christmas . Armenian historians describe the riots, and display of armed force, without which Justinian was not able in Jerusalem to See also:

• TRANSFER (from Lat. transferre, to bear across, carry over)

transfer this feast from the 14th to the 2nd of February . The grounds on which the Church introduced so late as 350-440 a Christmas feast till then unknown, or, if known, precariously linked with the baptism, seem in the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main to have been the following . (I) The transition from adult to See also:

• INFANT (in early forms enfaunt, enfant, through the Fr. enfant, from Lat. infans, in, not, and fans, the present participle of fari, to speak)

infant baptism was proceeding rapidly in the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East, and in the West was well-nigh completed . Its natural See also:

• COMPLEMENT (Lat. complementum, from complere, to fill up)

complement was a festal recognition of the fact that the divine See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element was See also:

• PRESENT

present in Christ from the first, and was no new See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage of spiritual promotion coeval only with the descent of the Spirit upon him at baptism . The general See also:

• ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption of See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child baptism helped to extinguish the old view that the divine See also:

• LIFE

life in Jesus dated from his baptism, a view which led the Epiphany feast to be regarded as that of Jesus' spiritual rebirth . This aspect of the feast was therefore forgotten, and its importance in every way diminished by the new and See also:

• RIVAL

rival feast of Christmas . (2) The 4th century witnessed a rapid See also:

• DIFFUSION (from the Lat. diffundere; dis-, asunder, and fundere, to pour out)

diffusion of Marcionite, or, as it was now called, Manichaean propaganda, the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief tenet of which was that Jesus either was not born at all, was a See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere phantasm, or anyhow did not take flesh of the Virgin See also:

• MARY
• MARY (1457-1482)
• MARY (1496-1533)
• MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Mary . Against this view the new Christmas was a protest, since it was peculiarly the feast of his birth in the flesh, or as a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man, and is constantly spoken of as such by the fathers who witnessed its institution .

In See also:

• BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain the 25th of December was a festival long before the See also:

• CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion to See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity, for See also:

• BEDE, BEDA, or B
• BEDE, CUTHBERT

Bede (De temp. See also:

• RAT (a word common to Teut. and Rom. languages; probably first adopted in Teut.; the ultimate origin is not known; Skeat suggests the root rad-, to scratch; cf. Ger. Ratte, Dan. rotte, Fr. rat, &c.)

rat. ch . 13) relates that " the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient peoples of the See also:

• ANGLI, ANGLII

Angli began the year on the 25th of December when we now celebrate the birthday of the Lord; and the very See also:

• NIGHT

night which is now so See also:

• HOLY

holy to us, they called in their See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue modranecht (m8dra niht), that is, the mothers' night, by See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason we suspect of the ceremonies which in that night-long See also:

• VIGIL (Lat. vigilia, "watch ")

vigil they performed." With his usual reticence about matters See also:

• PAGAN
• PAGAN (Lat. paganus, of or belonging to a pagus, a canton, county district, village, commune)

pagan or not orthodox, Bede abstains from recording who the mothers were and what the ceremonies . In 1644 the English puritans forbad any merriment or religious services by See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

Parliament, on the ground that it was a See also:

• HEATHEN

heathen festival, and ordered it to be kept as a fast . See also:

• CHARLES
• CHARLES (1270-1325)
• CHARLES (1421-1461)
• CHARLES (1525-1574)
• CHARLES (c. 1319-1364)
• CHARLES (Fr. Charles; Span. Carlos; Ital. Carlo; Ger. Karl; derived from O.H.G. Charal,latinized as Carolus, meaning originally " man ": cf. Mod.Ger., Kerl," fellow," A.S. ceorl, Mod. Eng. " churl ")
• CHARLES (KARL EITEL ZEPHYRIN LUDWIG; in Rum. CAROL)
• CHARLES [KARL ALEXANDER] (1712-1780)
• CHARLES, ELIZABETH (1828-1896)
• CHARLES, JACQUES ALEXANDRE CESAR (1746-1823)
• CHARLES, THOMAS (1755-1814)

Charles II. revived the feast, but the Scots adhered to the Puritan view . Outside See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic countries Christmas presents are unknown . Their See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place is taken in Latin countries by the strenae, See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French etrennes, given on the 1st of January; this was in antiquity a great See also:

• HOLIDAY

holiday, wherefore until late in the 4th century the Christians kept it as a day of See also:

• FASTING (from " fast," derived from old Teutonic fastejan; synonyms being the Gr. vnorebety, late Lat. jejunare)

fasting and gloom . The setting up in Latin churches of a Christmas See also:

• CRECHE (Fr. for a " crib " or cradle)

creche is said to have been originated by St See also:

• FRANCIS
• FRANCIS (FRarrcols) OF SALES, ST (1567-1622)
• FRANCIS (Lat. Franciscus, Ital. Francesco, Span. Francisco, Fr. Francois, Ger. Franz)
• FRANCIS, SIR PHILIP (174o-1818)

Francis .