Christian Festivals

The festivals dotting the Christian Calendar are marked by general out pourings of devotion, mourning and joy according to the religious significance of these days. Some common festivals celebrated by Christians are the days commemorating the major Christian events like Christmas for the birth of Jesus Christ and Easter for his martyrdom and resurrection. Other popular events usually mark the birth or the feast days of famous Saints. These occasions are celebrated with great enthusiasm; the people observe the time worn customs and traditions associated with each festival, which make each of these festivals, a unique experience.

Month Date Day Festival

January 1 Monday New Year's Day

January 6 Saturday New Year's Day

February 2 Friday Deva Matha Parisuthamaana Thirunal (candlemas)

February 28 Wednesday Ash Wednesday

March 4 Sunday First Sunday

March 17 Sunday St.Patricks Day

March 25 Sunday Lectare Sunday

March 26 Monday Annunciation

April 8 Sunday Palm Sunday

April 12 Thursday Maundy Thursday

April 13 Friday Good Friday

April 14 Saturday Holy Saturday

April 15 Sunday Easter

May 24 Thursday Ascension

June 3 Sunday Pentecost

June 10 Sunday Thiruthuva Sunday (Trinity)

June 14 Thursday Corpus Christi

June 22 Friday Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 23 Saturday Immaculate Heart of Mary

July 1 Sunday Canada Dominion Day

July 2 Monday Deva Madha Katchi Aruliya Dhinam

August 15 Wednesday Deva Madha Moksha Thirunal (Assumption)

September 8 Saturday Deva Madha Pirantha Naal (Birth of Virgin Mary)

September 14 Friday Celebration of Cross

November 1 Wednesday All Saints Day

November 2 Thursday All Souls Day

November 23 Friday Thanks Giving

November 25 Sunday Advent First Sunday

December 8 Saturday Deva Madha Karuvutra Thirunal

December 24 Monday Christmas Eve

December 25 Tuesday Christmas

December 31 Monday New Year's Eve.

Christmas is perhaps the only festival that is celebrated with an equal amount of joy and happiness all across the world. The entire Christian community and even some non-Christians wait for the 25th December every year to regale in fun and festivity. Christmas primarily celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the father of the Christian religion. The word Christmas comes from the Old English word - Cristes Maesse or Christ's Mass. However, the celebrations and customs related to the day have evolved over the years.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, who was believed to be the saviour of mankind. Christmas has always been one of the favourite times of the year for everyone through out the world. The magical events of Christmas are believed to hold each and everyone's heart with joy and freshness. These magical events have been recreated in the many traditions followed during Christmas. The Christmas tree, the star, Santa Claus and the ginger bread man are some traditions that all combine to form the spirit of Christmas.

The traditions of Christmas have been aggregated from over half a dozen cultures and accumulated over the centuries. An in-depth look in into its tradition, and one is moved with all the sentiments, symbols and meaning associated with Christmas. All of which combine to give a touch of liveliness and harmony to the season of celebrations. However, no matter which part of the world you are in, the tradition of Christmas blossoms with fun and celebration and carries along with it faith, hope and love.

Christmas Day

Places like Rome, Europe, Scandinavia and many others have celebrated the peak winter days with a grand feast and a lot of gaiety even before the birth of Christ. It was regarded as the perfect time for the celebrations as the period had a good supply of meat and wine, musts for the feast. The winter celebrations revolved around the hope of the coming spring, after the long harsh winters.

While Christianity was still in its infancy, Easter used to be the main holiday for the Christian community in most parts of the world. It was only in the fourth century, that the churches decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus and observe the same as a holiday. Surprisingly enough, the bible has no mention of the actual birth date of Jesus Christ. According to some evidences in the bible, Jesus is supposed to have been born in spring, though this fact remains dogged with controversies.

According to the historical records available, Christmas was first celebrated on January 6 according to the old Julian calendar. The day was also observed as an official Roman holiday starting from A.D. 534. The practice was continued until when due to some disputes or other reasons, the celebration of the day was switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1743. This resulted in a change of date for Christmas celebrations, which fell on December 25. It is said that Pope Julius I chose December 25 to be the date to celebrate Christmas. According to the popular belief, the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival or the Feast of the Nativity.

The celebration of the day gradually spread all across the world, where the followers of the Christian community lived. This custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

In the early seventeenth century, a wave of religious reform threatened to change the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. In 1645 Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England and vowed to rid England of decadence. They cancelled the celebrations of Christmas as a step to achieve their