圣诞节夜景

✎作文范文

christmas is a christian holiday held on december 25 which celebrates the birth of jesus christ. eastern orthodo_ churches, which use the julian calendar to determine feast days, celebrate on january 7 by the gregorian calendar. both dates are merely traditional and neither is thought to be the actual birthdate of jesus. christs birth, or nativity, is said to fulfill old testament prophecies concerning the coming of a messiah, or savior.

the word christmas is derived middle english christemasse and from old english cristes m?sse.it is a contraction meaning christs mass. the name of the holiday is often shortened to _mas because roman letter _ resembles the greek letter χ (chi), an abbreviation for christ.

in western countries, christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year. the popularity of christmas can be traced in part to its status as a winter festival. many cultures have their most important holiday in winter because there is less agricultural work to do at this time. e_amples of winter festivals that are believed by some to have influenced christmas include the pre-christian festivals of yule and saturnalia.

in western culture, the holiday is characterized by the e_change of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts being attributed to santa claus (also known as father christmas, saint nicholas, and father frost). however, various local and regional christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the widespread influence of american, british and australian christmas motifs disseminated by film, popular literature, television, and other media.