Christianity, the world’s largest religion, has several denominations. Various cultural and liturgical differences dictate how Christmas, the central festival of Christianity, is celebrated. Three of the largest denominations include Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox Christianity. A 2011 report by Pew Research Center found that approximately 31.5% of the global population identify as Christians. Among them, around 50.1% are Catholics, while Protestants make up nearly 36.7% and Orthodox Christians are the third largest group at approximately 11.9%.
History of Christmas
The festival of Christmas is meant to mark the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, who lived in the Roman province of Palestine in the first century and is believed to be the central figure in all Christian traditions. The Bible, the scripture considered sacred by Christians, does not provide a date for this event. The early Christians made a distinction between the actual day of his birth and the day of the liturgical celebration. Traditionally, Christmas has come to be celebrated on December 25, and this date seems to have first been identified as the day of Jesus’ birth in the third century by the Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus. Various explanations have been proposed for this choice, one of the popular ones being that the date coincides with a widely celebrated Roman festival marking the winter solstice.
Catholic Christmas
The largest church within Catholicism is the Latin Church, centered in the Vatican with over 1.3 billion followers globally. Catholic celebrations of Christmas are often highly elaborate, and the most important Christmas Eve mass, presided over by the pope, takes place at the Vatican where thousands of people gather in St. Peter’s Basilica. Catholic celebrations may include the veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other saints, which is comparatively less common in Protestant traditions. Advent, a period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and running up to Christmas, is observed formally in Catholic traditions, marked with special prayers and lighting candles.
Protestant Christmas
Protestantism is the second largest sect, estimated to have a bit under a billion followers globally. The schism between Catholicism and Protestantism goes back to the Protestant Reformation which began in Germany in the 16th century. Although there is a lot of variation across cultures and regions, Protestant Advent practices and celebrations of Christmas often tend to be simpler than Catholic ones. Unlike the Catholic mass which typically takes place on December 24 at midnight, the Protestant liturgy is often conducted in the afternoon. The tradition of erecting decorated trees on Christmas is considered to have originated with 16th century German Protestants.
Orthodox Christmas
The division between Orthodox and other mainstream Christian traditions goes back to the Great Schism of the 11th century. An overwhelming majority of Orthodox Christians (76%) live in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the Pew Research Center. Although December 25 is the accepted date for Christmas in Orthodox traditions, some Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar in which December 25 corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. Many Orthodox Christians observe a period of fasting prior to Christmas; in contrast, such fasting practices are less common in Western traditions of Christianity. In contrast to Western celebrations, Orthodox ones often have less emphasis on the cultural aspects of Christmas such as Santa Claus, gift-giving, Christmas trees, and festive meals, although some Orthodox communities do include local customs.
Secular Christmas celebrations
Since the early 20th century, Christmas has become a largely secular holiday for many across the world, marked by gift-giving and cultural references to mythical figures such as Santa Claus. In Japan, where people are predominantly not Christian, Christmas celebrations are mostly focused on secular aspects such as Christmas trees and Christmas songs.