document_title: Christmas

question_text: when was christmas first celebrated as a holiday

question_tokens: when was christmas first celebrated as a holiday

text: Christmas

text: Etymology

text: "Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038[9] followed by the word Cristes-messe in 1131.[32] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah", meaning "anointed";[33][34] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.

text: The form Christenmas was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal;[35] it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".[36] Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous style guides discourage its use;[37] it has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).[36]

text: Other names

text: In addition to "Christmas", the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as "midwinter",[38][39] or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from Latin nātīvitās below).[38][40] "Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin nātīvitās.[41] In Old English, Gēola (Yule) referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas.[42] "Noel" (or "Nowel") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs) meaning "birth (day)".[43]

text: Nativity

text: The canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger.[44] It says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him.

text: In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the king of the Jews. King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth.

text: History

text: The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels and early Christian writers suggested various dates for the anniversary. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336.[45][46] Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century. In the early Middle Ages, it was overshadowed by Epiphany. The feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day.

text: Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehavior, the Puritans banned Christmas in the 17th century.[47] It was restored as a legal holiday in 1660, but remained disreputable. In the early 19th century, Christmas was revived with the start of the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church.[48]

text: Charles Dickens and other writers reinvented the holiday by emphasizing Christmas as a time for family, religion, gift-giving, and social reconciliation as opposed to the revelry that had been common historically.[48]

text: Choice of December 25 date

text: In the 3rd century, the date of birth of Jesus was the subject of both great interest and great uncertainty. Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote:

text:
“
There are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus, and in the 25th day of [the Egyptian month] Pachon [May 20] … Further, others say that He was born on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi [April 20 or 21].[49]
”

text: In other writing of this time, May 20, April 18 or 19, March 25, January 2, November 17, and November 20 are all suggested.[9][50] Various factors contributed to the selection of December 25 as a date of celebration: it was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar; it was about nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox and a date linked to the conception of Jesus.

text: Solstice date

text: December 25 was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.[51][52] Jesus chose to be born on the shortest day of the year for symbolic reasons, according to an early Christmas sermon by Augustine: "Hence it is that He was born on the day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us up chose the shortest day, yet the one whence light begins to increase."[53]

text: Linking Jesus to the Sun was supported by various Biblical passages. Jesus was considered to be the "Sun of righteousness" prophesied by Malachi: "Unto you shall the sun of righteousness arise, and healing is in his wings."[54] John describes Jesus as "the light of the world."[55]

text: Such solar symbolism could support more than one date of birth. An anonymous work known as De Pascha Computus (243) linked the idea that creation began at the spring equinox, on March 25, with the conception or birth (the word nascor can mean either) of Jesus on March 28, the day of the creation of the sun in the Genesis account. One translation reads: "O the splendid and divine providence of the Lord, that on that day, the very day, on which the sun was made, March 28, a Wednesday, Christ should be born.[9][56]

text: In the 17th century, Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the solstice.[57]

text: According to Steven Hijmans of the University of Alberta, "It is cosmic symbolism ... which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the southern solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the northern solstice as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as their respective dates of conception."[58]

text: Calculation hypothesis

text: The Calculation hypothesis suggests that an earlier holiday held on March 25 became associated with the Incarnation.[59] Modern scholars refer to this feast as the Quartodecimal. Christmas was then calculated as nine months later. The Calculation hypothesis was proposed by French writer Louis Duchesne in 1889.[60][61] In modern times, March 25 is celebrated as Annunciation. This holiday was created in the seventh century and was assigned to a date that is nine months before Christmas, in addition to being the traditional date of the equinox. It is unrelated to the Quartodecimal, which had been forgotten by this time.[62]

text: Early Christians celebrated the life of Jesus on a date considered equivalent to 14 Nisan (Passover) on the local calendar. Because Passover was held on the 14th of the month, this feast is referred to as the Quartodecimal. All the major events of Christ's life, especially the passion, were celebrated on this date. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Passover, presumably celebrated according to the local calendar in Corinth.[63] Tertullian (d. 220), who lived in Latin-speaking North Africa, gives the date of passion celebration as March 25.[64] The date of the passion was moved to Good Friday in 165 when Pope Soter created Easter by reassigning the Resurrection to a Sunday. According to the Calculation hypothesis, celebration of the quartodecimal continued in some areas and the feast became associated with Incarnation.

text: The Calculation hypothesis is considered academically to be "a thoroughly viable hypothesis", though not certain.[65] It was a traditional Jewish belief that great men lived a whole number of years, without fractions, so that Jesus was considered to have been conceived on March 25, as he died on March 25, which was calculated to have coincided with 14 Nisan.[66] A passage in Commentary on the Prophet Daniel (204) by Hippolytus of Rome identifies December 25 as the date of the nativity. This passage is generally considered a late interpellation. But the manuscript includes another passage, one that is more likely to be authentic, that gives the passion as March 25.[67]

text: In 221, Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) gave March 25 as the day of creation and of the conception of Jesus in his universal history. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. As this implies a birth in December, it is sometimes claimed to be the earliest identification of December 25 as the nativity. However, Africanus was not such an influential writer that it is likely he determined the date of Christmas.[68]

text: The tractate De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, falsely attributed to John Chrysostom, also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as March 25.[69][70] This anonymous tract also states: "But Our Lord, too, is born in the month of December ... the eight before the calends of January [25 December] ..., But they call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice."[9]

text: History of religions hypothesis

text: The rival "History of Religions" hypothesis suggests that the Church selected December 25 date to appropriate festivities held by the Romans in honor of the Sun god Sol Invictus.[59] This feast was established by Aurelian in 274. An explicit expression of this theory appears in an annotation of uncertain date added to a manuscript of a work by 12th-century Syrian bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi. The scribe who added it wrote:

text: "It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day." [71]

text: In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.[72] It has been argued that, on the contrary, the Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[73]

text: Hermann Usener[74] and others[32] proposed that the Christians chose this day because it was the Roman feast celebrating the birthday of Sol Invictus. Modern scholar S. E. Hijmans, however, states that "While they were aware that pagans called this day the 'birthday' of Sol Invictus, this did not concern them and it did not play any role in their choice of date for Christmas."[58] Moreover, Thomas J. Talley holds that the Roman Emperor Aurelian placed a festival of Sol Invictus on December 25 in order to compete with the growing rate of the Christian Church, which had already been celebrating Christmas on that date first.[75] In the judgement of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, the History of Religions hypothesis has been challenged[76] by a view based on an old tradition, according to which the date of Christmas was fixed at nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, on which the Annunciation was celebrated.[69]

text: With regard to a December religious feast of the deified Sun (Sol), as distinct from a solstice feast of the birth (or rebirth) of the astronomical sun, one scholar has commented that, "while the winter solstice on or around December 25 was well established in the Roman imperial calendar, there is no evidence that a religious celebration of Sol on that day antedated the celebration of Christmas".[77] "Thomas Talley has shown that, although the Emperor Aurelian's dedication of a temple to the sun god in the Campus Martius (C.E. 274) probably took place on the 'Birthday of the Invincible Sun' on December 25, the cult of the sun in pagan Rome ironically did not celebrate the winter solstice nor any of the other quarter-tense days, as one might expect."[78] The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought remarks on the uncertainty about the order of precedence between the religious celebrations of the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun and of the birthday of Jesus, stating that the hypothesis that December 25 was chosen for celebrating the birth of Jesus on the basis of the belief that his conception occurred on March 25 "potentially establishes 25 December as a Christian festival before Aurelian's decree, which, when promulgated, might have provided for the Christian feast both opportunity and challenge".[79]

text: Introduction of feast

text: As Christmas was unknown to the early Christian writers, it must have been introduced sometime after 300. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts. In 245, Origen of Alexandria, writing about Leviticus 12:1–8, commented that Scripture mentions only sinners as celebrating their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker hanged (Genesis 40:20–22), and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded (Mark 6:21–27), and mentions saints as cursing the day of their birth, namely Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14–15) and Job (Job 3:1–16).[80] In 303, Arnobius still ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration.[81] But since Christmas does not celebrate Christ's birth "as God" but "as man", this does not necessarily show that Christmas was not a feast at this time.[9]

text: The earliest known Christmas celebration is recorded in a fourth-century manuscript compiled in Rome.[45] This manuscript is thought to record a celebration that occurred in 336. It was prepared privately for Furius Dionysius Filocalus, a Roman aristocrat, in 354. The reference in question states, "VIII kal. ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ"[46] translated as "8 Kalends January[a] Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, Judea."[82] This reference is in a section of the manuscript that was copied from earlier source material.[83] The document also contains the earliest known reference to the feast of Sol Invictus.[84] The fact the Donatists of North Africa celebrated Christmas suggests that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311.[85][86]

text: In Eastern Christianity the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6,[87][88] which however emphasized celebration of the baptism of Jesus.[89] Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Nicene Christianity following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced at Constantinople in 379, in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the fourth century,[88] probably in 388, and in Alexandria only in the following century.[90] The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[9] Even in the West, January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.[91]

text: Relation to concurrent celebrations

text: Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity. These elements, including the Yule log from Yule and gift giving from Saturnalia,[92] became syncretized into Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival-like state in the Middle Ages,[93] to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century transformation.[94][95] In fact, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain Protestant groups, such as the Puritans, due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.[47][96] Jehovah's Witnesses also reject the celebration of Christmas.

text: Prior to and through the early Christian centuries, winter festivals—especially those centered on the winter solstice—were the most popular of the year in many European pagan cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needed to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached.[98] Many modern Christmas customs have been directly influenced by such festivals, including:

text:
Gift-giving and merrymaking from the Roman Saturnalia,
Greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year, and
Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts.[99]

text: The Egyptian deity Horus, son to goddess Isis, was celebrated at the winter solstice. Horus was often depicted being fed by his mother, which also influenced the symbolism of the Virgin Mary with baby Christ.

text: The pre-Christian Germanic peoples—including the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse—celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period, yielding modern English yule, today used as a synonym for Christmas.[100] In Germanic language-speaking areas, numerous elements of modern Christmas folk custom and iconography stem from Yule, including the Yule log, Yule boar, and the Yule goat.[100] Often leading a ghostly procession through the sky (the Wild Hunt), the long-bearded god Odin is referred to as "the Yule one" and "Yule father" in Old Norse texts, while other gods are referred to as "Yule beings".[101]

text: In eastern Europe also, old pagan traditions were incorporated into Christmas celebrations, an example being the Koleda,[102] which was incorporated into the Christmas carol.

text: Middle Ages

text: In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in western Christianity focused on the visit of the magi. But the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[93] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[93] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.[93]

text: The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.

text: By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[93] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[93] "Misrule"—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[93]

text: Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated ivy, holly, and other evergreens.[103] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.[103] The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, and card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques, and pageants. In 1607, King James I insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games.[104] It was during the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.[105]

text: Reformation to the 18th century

text: Following the Protestant Reformation, many of the new denominations, including the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, continued to celebrate Christmas.[106] In 1629, the Anglican poet John Milton penned On the Morning of Christ's Nativity, a poem that has since been read by many during Christmastide.[107][108] Donald Heinz, a professor at California State University, states that Martin Luther "inaugurated a period in which Germany would produce a unique culture of Christmas, much copied in North America."[109] Among the congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church, Christmas was celebrated as one of the principal evangelical feasts.[110]

text: However, in 17th century England, some groups such as the Puritans, strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery" or the "rags of the Beast".[47] In contrast, the established Anglican Church "pressed for a more elaborate observance of feasts, penitential seasons, and saints' days. The calendar reform became a major point of tension between the Anglican party and the Puritan party."[111] The Catholic Church also responded, promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old-style Christmas generosity.[104] Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647.[47][112]

text: Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[47] The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", old Father Christmas and carol singing.[113]

text: The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many Calvinist clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. As such, in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland discouraged the observance of Christmas, and though James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, attendance at church was scant.[114] The Parliament of Scotland officially abolished the observance of Christmas in 1640, claiming that the church had been "purged of all superstitious observation of days".[115] It was not until 1958 that Christmas again became a Scottish public holiday.[116]

text: Following the Restoration of Charles II, Poor Robin's Almanack contained the lines: "Now thanks to God for Charles return, / Whose absence made old Christmas mourn. / For then we scarcely did it know, / Whether it Christmas were or no."[117] The diary of James Woodforde, from the latter half of the 18th century, details the observance of Christmas and celebrations associated with the season over a number of years.[118]

text: In Colonial America, the Pilgrims of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas.[96] The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World working – thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day.[96] Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England.[119] Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659.[96] The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.[120]

text: At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.[121] Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[122] George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on the day after Christmas during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.

text: With the atheistic Cult of Reason in power during the era of Revolutionary France, Christian Christmas religious services were banned and the three kings cake was renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical government policies.[123][124]

text: 19th century

text: In the UK, Christmas Day became a bank holiday in 1834, Boxing Day was added in 1871.[125]

text: In the early-19th century, writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol that helped revive the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal merriment.[94][95] Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.[126]

text: Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, linking "worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation."[127] Superimposing his humanitarian vision of the holiday, in what has been termed "Carol Philosophy",[128] Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit.[129] A prominent phrase from the tale, "Merry Christmas", was popularized following the appearance of the story.[130] This coincided with the appearance of the Oxford Movement and the growth of Anglo-Catholicism, which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances.[131]

text: The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser, with "Bah! Humbug!" dismissive of the festive spirit.[132] In 1843, the first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole.[133] The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William Sandys's "Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern" (1833), with the first appearance in print of "The First Noel", "I Saw Three Ships", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", popularized in Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

text: In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III. In 1832, the future Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it.[134] After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.[135]

text: An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created a sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850.[136][137] By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.[136]

text: In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,[138] and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.[104]

text: In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas).[139] The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[140] This also started the cultural conflict between the holiday's spiritual significance and its associated commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book The First Christmas in New England, Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.[141]

text: While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so."[142] In Reading, Pennsylvania, a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas—threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth."[142]

text: The First Congregational Church of Rockford, Illinois, "although of genuine Puritan stock", was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.[142] By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.[143] In 1875, Louis Prang introduced the Christmas card to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American Christmas card".[144] On June 28, 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States federal holiday.[145]

text: 20th century

text: Up to the 1950s, in the UK, many Christmas customs were restricted to the upper classes and better-off families. The mass of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later became general. The Christmas tree was rare. Christmas dinner might be beef—certainly not turkey. In their stockings children might get an apple, orange and sweets. Full celebration of a family Christmas with all the trimmings only became widespread with increased prosperity from the 1950s.[146] National papers were published on Christmas Day until 1912. Post was still delivered on Christmas Day until 1961. League football matches continued in Scotland until the 1970s while in England they ceased at the end of the 1950s.[147][148]

text: Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other Christian holidays—were prohibited in public.[149] During the 1920s, 30s and 40s, the League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.[150] At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on crucifixes as a protest against the holiday.[151] It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that the persecution ended and Orthodox Christmas became a state holiday again for the first time in Russia after seven decades.[152]

text: European History Professor Joseph Perry wrote that likewise, in Nazi Germany, "because Nazi ideologues saw organized religion as an enemy of the totalitarian state, propagandists sought to deemphasize—or eliminate altogether—the Christian aspects of the holiday" and that "Propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regime's racial ideologies."[153]

text: As Christmas celebrations began to be held around the world even outside traditional Christian cultures in the 20th century, some Muslim-majority countries have banned the practice of Christmas, claiming it undermines Islam.[154]

text: Customs and traditions

text: Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees.

text: Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macau), the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. Christmas celebrations around the world can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions.

text: Among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures. For Christians, participating in a religious service plays an important part in the recognition of the season. Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance. A 2010 survey by LifeWay Christian Resources found that 47% of American households attend church services during this time.[155] In the United Kingdom, the Church of England reported an estimated attendance of 2.5 million people at Christmas services in 2015.[156]

text: In Catholic countries, people hold religious processions or parades in the days preceding Christmas. In other countries, secular processions or parades featuring Santa Claus and other seasonal figures are often held. Family reunions and the exchange of gifts are a widespread feature of the season. Gift-giving takes place on Christmas Day in most countries. Others practice gift giving on Saint Nicholas Day, and January 6, Epiphany.

text: Decorations

text: The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. In the 15th century, it was recorded that in London it was the custom at Christmas for every house and all the parish churches to be "decked with holm, ivy, bays, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green".[157] The heart-shaped leaves of ivy were said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, while holly was seen as protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries held to represent the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus at the crucifixion and the blood he shed.[158][159]

text: Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. They were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe.[160] Different types of decorations developed across the Christian world, dependent on local tradition and available resources, and can vary from simple representations of the crib to far more elaborate sets – renowned manger scene traditions include the colourful Kraków szopka in Poland,[161] which imitate Kraków's historical buildings as settings, the elaborate Italian presepi (Neapolitan, Genoese and Bolognese),[162][163][164][165] or the Provençal crèches in southern France, using hand-painted terracotta figurines called santons.[166] In certain parts of the world, notably Sicily, living nativity scenes following the tradition of Saint Francis are a popular alternative to static crèches.[167][168][169] The first commercially produced decorations appeared in Germany in the 1860s, inspired by paper chains made by children.[170] In countries where a representation of the Nativity scene is very popular, people are encouraged to compete and create the most original or realistic ones. Within some families, the pieces used to make the representation are considered a valuable family heirloom.

text: The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion, while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter, and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.[159]

text: The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship;[171] according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus, Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Thor and pointed out a fir tree, which he stated was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to heaven and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the Trinity.[172] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[173] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[171] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[174][175]

text: From Germany the custom was introduced to Britain, first via Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria. By 1841 the Christmas tree had become even more widespread throughout Britain.[135] By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a Christmas tree.[136] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

text: Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas.[176] Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. The outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Mistletoe features prominently in European myth and folklore (for example the legend of Baldr), it is an evergreen parasitic plant which grows on trees, especially apple and poplar, and turns golden when it is dried. It is customary to hang a sprig of mistletoe in the house at Christmas, and anyone standing underneath it may be kissed. Mistletoe has sticky white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it. This is probably a fertility ritual. The mistletoe berry juice resembles semen.[177]

text: Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare Christians for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world.[178]

text: Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places.[179] It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night, the evening of January 5.

text: Music and carols

text: The earliest extant specifically Christmas hymns appear in fourth-century Rome. Latin hymns such as "Veni redemptor gentium", written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. "Corde natus ex Parentis" ("Of the Father's love begotten") by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.[180] In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.

text: By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed.[181] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty-five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house.[182]

text: The songs we know specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie", "Good King Wenceslas", and "The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. "Adeste Fideles" (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.

text: Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like Martin Luther, wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century. The 18th-century English reformer Charles Wesley understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the Great Awakening in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols. The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later renamed "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing".[183]

text:
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Performed by the U.S. Army Band Chorus

Problems playing this file? See media help.

text: Felix Mendelssohn wrote a melody adapted to fit Wesley's words. In Austria in 1818 Mohr and Gruber made a major addition to the genre when they composed "Silent Night" for the St. Nicholas Church, Oberndorf. William Sandys' Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic English carols, and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the festival.[184]

text: Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck the Halls" dates from 1784, and the American "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An increasing number of seasonal holidays songs were commercially produced in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition, there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and classical music. John Rutter has composed many carols including "All Bells in Paradise", "Angels' Carol", "Candlelight Carol", "Donkey Carol", "Jesus Child", "Shepherds' Pipe Carol" and "Star Carol".

text: Traditional cuisine

text: A special Christmas family meal is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions, such as Sicily, have special meals for Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In the United Kingdom and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey, goose or other large bird, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies, fruit cake and Yule log cake.[185][186]

text: In Poland and other parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Sweden it is common with a special variety of smörgåsbord, where ham, meatballs and herring play a prominent role. In Germany, France, and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham, and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world. The Maltese traditionally serve Imbuljuta tal-Qastan,[187] a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after Midnight Mass and throughout the Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional Christmas bread potica, bûche de Noël in France, panettone in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter Christmas delicacies include the German stollen, marzipan cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges have been long associated with special Christmas foods. Eggnog is a sweetened dairy-based beverage traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, and whipped eggs (which gives it a frothy texture). Spirits such as brandy, rum or bourbon are often added. The finished serving is often garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

text: Cards

text: Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843.[188] The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide cross-section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards exchanging E-cards.

text: Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season. The content of the design might relate directly to the Christmas narrative, with depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christian symbols such as the Star of Bethlehem, or a white dove, which can represent both the Holy Spirit and Peace on Earth. Other Christmas cards are more secular and can depict Christmas traditions, mythical figures such as Santa Claus, objects directly associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated with the season, such as Christmastide activities, snow scenes and the wildlife of the northern winter. There are even humorous cards and genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as crinolined shoppers in idealized 19th-century streetscapes.

text: Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer, or Biblical verse; while others distance themselves from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings".

text: Commemorative stamps

text: A number of nations have issued commemorative stamps at Christmastide. Postal customers will often use these stamps to mail Christmas cards, and they are popular with philatelists. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are valid for postage year-round. They usually go on sale some time between early October and early December, and are printed in considerable quantities.

text: Gift giving

text: The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. On Christmas, people exchange gifts based on the Christian tradition associated with Saint Nicholas,[189] and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were given to the baby Jesus by the Magi.[190][191] The practice of gift giving in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia may have influenced Christian Christian customs, but on the other hand the Christian "core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event", because it was the Biblical Magi, "together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life."[192]

text: Gift-bearing figures

text: A number of figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus (derived from the Dutch for Saint Nicholas), Père Noël, and the Weihnachtsmann; Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas; the Christkind; Kris Kringle; Joulupukki; tomte/nisse; Babbo Natale; Saint Basil; and Ded Moroz. The Scandinavian tomte (also called nisse) is sometimes depicted as a gnome instead of Santa Claus.

text: The best known of these figures today is red-dressed Santa Claus, of diverse origins. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek bishop of Myra, a city in the Roman province of Lycia, whose ruins are 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from modern Demre in southwest Turkey.[194][195] Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast day, December 6, came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts.[105]

text: Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.[105]

text: The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the American Revolutionary War, some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.[196]

text: In 1809, the New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam, the Dutch name for New York City.[197] At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However, as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire.[198] Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the modern vision of the figure, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s[199] and continues through the present day.[200][201]

text: Father Christmas, a jolly, stout, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness rather than the bringing of gifts.[173] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

text: There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence.[202] Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas.[203] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a book-length study in 1978;[204] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.[205]

text: Current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela and Colombia) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes, a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

text: In South Tyrol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland, the Christkind (Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from Saint Basil on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast.[206] The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus / Father Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts, and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[207]

text: Multiple gift-giver figures exist in Poland, varying between regions and individual families. St Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) dominates Central and North-East areas, the Starman (Gwiazdor) is most common in Greater Poland, Baby Jesus (Dzieciątko) is unique to Upper Silesia, with the Little Star (Gwiazdka) and the Little Angel (Aniołek) being common in the South and the South-East. Grandfather Frost (Dziadek Mróz) is less commonly accepted in some areas of Eastern Poland.[208][209] It is worth noting that across all of Poland, St Nicholas is the gift giver on the Saint Nicholas Day on December 6.

text: Date according to Julian calendar

text: Some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, including those of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Jerusalem, mark feasts using the older Julian calendar. As of 2018, there is a difference of 13 days between the Julian calendar and the modern Gregorian calendar, which is used internationally for most secular purposes. As a result, December 25 on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the calendar used by most governments and people in everyday life. Therefore, the aforementioned Orthodox Christians mark December 25 (and thus Christmas) on the day that is internationally considered to be January 7.[4]

text: However, other Orthodox Christians, such as those belonging to the jurisdictions of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, Finland, and the Orthodox Church in America, among others, began using the Revised Julian calendar in the early 20th century, which at present corresponds exactly to the Gregorian calendar.[11] Therefore, these Orthodox Christians mark December 25 (and thus Christmas) on the same day that is internationally considered to be December 25, and which is also the date of Christmas among Western Christians.

text: A further complication is added by the fact that the Armenian Apostolic Church continues the original ancient Eastern Christian practice of celebrating the birth of Christ not as a separate holiday, but on the same day as the celebration of his baptism (Theophany), which is on January 6. This is a public holiday in Armenia, and it is held on the same day that is internationally considered to be January 6, because the Armenian Church in Armenia uses the Gregorian calendar.

text: However, there is also a small Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which maintains the traditional Armenian custom of celebrating the birth of Christ on the same day as Theophany (January 6), but uses the Julian calendar for the determination of that date. As a result, this church celebrates "Christmas" (more properly called Theophany) on the day that is considered January 19 on the Gregorian calendar in use by the majority of the world.

text: In summary, there are four different dates used by different Christian groups to mark the birth of Christ, given in the table below.

text: Listing

text:
Church or section
Date
Calendar
Gregorian date
Note

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
January 6
Julian calendar
January 19
Correspondence between Julian January 6 and Gregorian January 19 holds until 2100; in the following century the difference will be one day more.

Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Catholic Church
January 6
Gregorian calendar
January 6

Eastern Orthodox Church jurisdictions, including those of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Cyprus, and the Orthodox Church in America
December 25
Revised Julian calendar
December 25
Revised Julian calendar usage started in the early 20th century

Other Eastern Orthodox: Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Belarus, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Jerusalem.
Also, some Byzantine Rite Catholics.

December 25
Julian calendar
January 7
Correspondence between Julian December 25 and Gregorian January 7 of the following year holds until 2100; from 2101 to 2199 the difference will be one day more.

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Koiak 29 (corresponding to Julian December 25 or 26)
Coptic calendar
January 7 or 8
Since the Coptic calendar's leap day is inserted in what the Julian calendar considers September, the following Koiak 29 falls one day later than usual in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Tahsas 29 or 28 (corresponding to Julian December 25)
Ethiopian Calendar
January 7
After the Ethiopian insertion of a leap day in what for the Julian calendar is September, Christmas is celebrated on Tahsas 28 in order to maintain the exact interval of 9 30-day months and 5 days of the child's gestation.[210] The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the same calendar but, like the Coptic Church, does not make this adjustment.

Western Christian churches, Finnish Orthodox Church, secular world
December 25
Gregorian calendar
December 25

text: Economy

text: Christmas is typically a peak selling season for retailers in many nations around the world. Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies to celebrate. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" starts as early as October.[211][212] In Canada, merchants begin advertising campaigns just before Halloween (October 31), and step up their marketing following Remembrance Day on November 11. In the UK and Ireland, the Christmas shopping season starts from mid-November, around the time when high street Christmas lights are turned on.[213][214] In the United States, it has been calculated that a quarter of all personal spending takes place during the Christmas/holiday shopping season.[215] Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that expenditure in department stores nationwide rose from $20.8 billion in November 2004 to $31.9 billion in December 2004, an increase of 54 percent. In other sectors, the pre-Christmas increase in spending was even greater, there being a November–December buying surge of 100 percent in bookstores and 170 percent in jewelry stores. In the same year employment in American retail stores rose from 1.6 million to 1.8 million in the two months leading up to Christmas.[216] Industries completely dependent on Christmas include Christmas cards, of which 1.9 billion are sent in the United States each year, and live Christmas Trees, of which 20.8 million were cut in the U.S. in 2002.[217] In the UK in 2010, up to £8 billion was expected to be spent online at Christmas, approximately a quarter of total retail festive sales.[214]

text: In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day of the year), whether laws require such or not. In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies during the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values to hopes of maximizing the chance of nominations for the Academy Awards.

text: One economist's analysis calculates that, despite increased overall spending, Christmas is a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, because of the effect of gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001, Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[218][219] Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[220]

text: Controversies

text: Christmas has at times been the subject of controversy and attacks from various sources. Historically it was prohibited by Puritans when they briefly held power in England during the English Interregnum (1649–1660), and in Colonial America where the Puritans outlawed the celebration of Christmas in 1659.[221][222] The Parliament of Scotland, which was dominated by Presbyterians, passed a series of acts outlawing the observance of Christmas between 1637 and 1690; Christmas Day did not become a public holiday in Scotland until 1958.[223] Christmas celebrations have also been prohibited by atheist states such as the Soviet Union[224] and more recently majority Muslim states such as Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei.[225]

text: Modern scholars such as E. P. Sanders, Geza Vermes and Marcus Borg consider both Gospel narratives of the birth of Jesus to be non-historical, arguing that there are contradictions between them.[226][227][228] Many biblical scholars view the discussion of historicity as secondary, given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than historical accounts.[229][230][231][232]

text: Secularization controversies

text: Some Christians and organizations such as Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice cite alleged attacks on Christmas (dubbing them a "war on Christmas").[233][234][235] Such groups claim that any specific mention of the term "Christmas" or its religious aspects is being increasingly censored, avoided, or discouraged by a number of advertisers, retailers, government (prominently schools), and other public and private organizations. One controversy is the occurrence of Christmas trees being renamed Holiday trees.[234] In the U.S. there has been a tendency to replace the greeting Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays, which is considered inclusive at the time of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.[236] In the U.S. and Canada, where the use of the term "Holidays" is most prevalent, opponents have denounced its usage and avoidance of using the term "Christmas" as being politically correct.[237][238][239] Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have initiated court cases to bar the display of images and other material referring to Christmas from public property, including schools.[240] Such groups argue that government-funded displays of Christmas imagery and traditions violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the establishment by Congress of a national religion.[241] In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lynch v. Donnelly that a Christmas display (which included a Nativity scene) owned and displayed by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, did not violate the First Amendment.[242] In November 2009, the federal appeals court in Philadelphia upheld a school district's ban on the singing of Christmas carols.[243] The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear an appeal.[244]

text: American Muslim scholar Abdul Malik Mujahid has said that Muslims must treat Christmas with respect, even if they disagree with it.[245]


document_title: List of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episodes

question_text: the fresh prince of bel air season 3 episode 11

root

text: Series overview[edit]

tag: table

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (1990–1991)[edit]

text:
No.overall

No. inseason

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

11"Pilot (The Fresh Prince Project)"Debbie AllenAndy Borowitz & Susan BorowitzSeptember 10, 1990 (1990-09-10)446801
22"Bang the Drum, Ashley"Debbie AllenShannon GaughanSeptember 17, 1990 (1990-09-17)446802
33"Clubba Hubba"Jeff MelmanRob EdwardsSeptember 24, 1990 (1990-09-24)446805
44"Not with My Pig, You Don't"Jeff MelmanLisa RosenthalOctober 1, 1990 (1990-10-01)446806
55"Homeboy, Sweet Homeboy"Jeff MelmanSamm-Art WilliamsOctober 8, 1990 (1990-10-08)446804
66"Mistaken Identity"Jeff MelmanSusan Borowitz & Andy BorowitzOctober 15, 1990 (1990-10-15)446807
77"Def Poet's Society"Jeff MelmanJohn BowmanOctober 22, 1990 (1990-10-22)446808
88"Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect" (Part 1)Jeff MelmanStory by: Bennie Richburg, Jr.Teleplay by: Cheryl Gard & Shannon GaughanOctober 29, 1990 (1990-10-29)446810A
99"Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect" (Part 2)Jeff MelmanStory by: Bennie Richburg, Jr.Teleplay by: Cheryl Gard & Shannon GaughanOctober 29, 1990 (1990-10-29)446810B
1010"Kiss My Butler"Rita Rogers BlyeSandy FrankNovember 5, 1990 (1990-11-05)446809
1111"Courting Disaster"Jeff MelmanSandy Frank & Lisa RosenthalNovember 12, 1990 (1990-11-12)446811
1212"Talking Turkey"Jeff MelmanCheryl GardNovember 19, 1990 (1990-11-19)446812
1313"Knowledge is Power"Jeff MelmanRob EdwardsNovember 26, 1990 (1990-11-26)446813
1414"Day Damn One"Jeff MelmanCheryl GardDecember 3, 1990 (1990-12-03)446803
1515"Deck the Halls"Jeff MelmanShannon GaughanDecember 10, 1990 (1990-12-10)446814
1616"Lucky Charm"Jeff MelmanSamm-Art WilliamsJanuary 7, 1991 (1991-01-07)446816
1717"The Ethnic Tip"Jeff MelmanBenny Medina & Jeff PollackJanuary 14, 1991 (1991-01-14)446815
1818"The Young and the Restless"Jeff MelmanLisa RosenthalJanuary 21, 1991 (1991-01-21)446817
1919"It Had to Be You"Jeff MelmanCheryl GardFebruary 4, 1991 (1991-02-04)446818
2020"Nice Lady"Jeff MelmanSandy FrankFebruary 11, 1991 (1991-02-11)446819
2121"Love at First Fight"Jeff MelmanLisa Rosenthal & Samm-Art WilliamsFebruary 18, 1991 (1991-02-18)446820
2222"Banks Shot"Jeff MelmanBennie Richburg, Jr.February 25, 1991 (1991-02-25)446821
2323"72 Hours"Rea KrausRob EdwardsMarch 11, 1991 (1991-03-11)446822
2424"Just Infatuation"Jeff MelmanJeff Pollack & Benny MedinaApril 29, 1991 (1991-04-29)446824
2525"Working It Out"Rita Rogers BlyeShannon GaughanMay 6, 1991 (1991-05-06)446823

text: Season 2 (1991–1992)[edit]

text:
No.overall

No. inseason

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

261"Did the Earth Move for You?"Ellen FalconWinifred Hervey StallworthSeptember 9, 1991 (1991-09-09)446901
272"The Mother of All Battles"Ellen FalconBryan WinterSeptember 16, 1991 (1991-09-16)446902
283"Will Gets a Job"Ellen FalconEfrem SeegerSeptember 23, 1991 (1991-09-23)446903
294"PSAT Pstory"Ellen FalconMarcus Jamal GainesSeptember 30, 1991 (1991-09-30)446904
305"Granny Gets Busy"Ellen FalconCheryl GardOctober 7, 1991 (1991-10-07)446906
316"Guess Who's Coming to Marry?"Ellen FalconSamm-Art WilliamsOctober 14, 1991 (1991-10-14)446905
327"The Big Four-Oh"Ellen FalconLisa RosenthalOctober 21, 1991 (1991-10-21)446907
338"She Ain't Heavy"Ellen FalconLisa RosenthalNovember 4, 1991 (1991-11-04)446908
349"Cased Up"Ellen FalconBennie R. Richburg, Jr.November 11, 1991 (1991-11-11)446909
3510"Hi-Ho Silver"Ellen FalconElaine Newman & Ed BurnhamNovember 18, 1991 (1991-11-18)446910
3611"The Butler Did It"Ellen FalconBryan WinterNovember 25, 1991 (1991-11-25)446911
3712"Something for Nothing"Ellen FalconBill StreibDecember 9, 1991 (1991-12-09)446912
3813"Will's Christmas Show"Ellen FalconWinifred Hervey StallworthDecember 16, 1991 (1991-12-16)446913
3914"Hilary Gets a Life"Shelley JensenEunetta T. Boone & P. Karen RaperJanuary 6, 1992 (1992-01-06)446914
4015"My Brother's Keeper"Ellen FalconBennie Richburg, Jr.January 13, 1992 (1992-01-13)446915
4116"Geoffrey Cleans Up"Ellen FalconLisa RosenthalJanuary 20, 1992 (1992-01-20)446916
4217"Community Action"Ellen FalconCheryl GardFebruary 3, 1992 (1992-02-03)446917
4318"Ill Will"Ellen FalconLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonFebruary 10, 1992 (1992-02-10)446918
4419"Eyes on the Prize"Ellen FalconBryan WinterFebruary 17, 1992 (1992-02-17)446919
4520"Those Were the Days"Rita Rogers-BlyeSamm-Art WilliamsFebruary 24, 1992 (1992-02-24)446920
4621"Vying for Attention"Malcolm-Jamal WarnerEfrem SeegerMarch 2, 1992 (1992-03-02)446921
4722"The Aunt Who Came to Dinner"Rae KrausJerry RossMarch 23, 1992 (1992-03-23)446922
4823"Be My Baby Tonight"Shelley JensenLisa RosenthalApril 27, 1992 (1992-04-27)446923
4924"Striptease for Two"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonMay 4, 1992 (1992-05-04)446924

text: Season 3 (1992–1993)[edit]

text:
No.overall

No. inseason

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

501"How I Spent My Summer Vacation"Shelley JensenWinifred Hervey StallworthSeptember 14, 1992 (1992-09-14)446951
512"Will Gets Committed"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonSeptember 21, 1992 (1992-09-21)446952
523"That's No Lady, That's My Cousin"Shelley JensenBryan WinterSeptember 28, 1992 (1992-09-28)446953
534"Hilary Gets a Job"Shelley JensenEfrem SeegerOctober 5, 1992 (1992-10-05)446954
545"Mama's Baby, Carlton's Maybe"Shelley JensenMichael FryOctober 12, 1992 (1992-10-12)446956
556"P.S. I Love You"Shelley JensenLinda M. YearwoodOctober 24, 1992 (1992-10-24)446955
567"Here Comes the Judge"Shelley JensenSamm-Art WilliamsOctober 26, 1992 (1992-10-26)446958
578"Boyz in the Woods"Chuck VinsonSamm-Art WilliamsNovember 5, 1992 (1992-11-05)446957
589"A Night at the Oprah"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonNovember 9, 1992 (1992-11-09)446959
5910"Asses to Ashes"Shelley JensenBryan WinterNovember 16, 1992 (1992-11-16)446960
6011"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonNovember 23, 1992 (1992-11-23)446961
6112"The Cold War"Michael PetersDavid Steven SimonDecember 7, 1992 (1992-12-07)446962
6213"Mommy Nearest"Shelley JensenEfrem SeegerDecember 14, 1992 (1992-12-14)446963
6314"Winner Takes Off"Shelley JensenCasey Maxwell ClairJanuary 4, 1993 (1993-01-04)446964
6415"Robbing the Banks"Shelley JensenWinifred Hervey StallworthJanuary 18, 1993 (1993-01-18)446966
6516"Bundle of Joy"Shelley JensenMyles Avery Mapp & K. SnyderJanuary 25, 1993 (1993-01-25)446974
6617"Best Laid Plans"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonFebruary 1, 1993 (1993-02-01)446965
6718"The Alma Matter"Shelley JensenBryan WinterFebruary 8, 1993 (1993-02-08)446968
6819"Just Say Yo"Shelley JensenEfrem SeegerFebruary 15, 1993 (1993-02-15)446969
6920"The Baby Comes Out"Shelley JensenWinifred Hervey StallworthFebruary 22, 1993 (1993-02-22)446967
7021"You Bet Your Life"Chuck VinsonSamm-Art WilliamsMarch 1, 1993 (1993-03-01)446970
7122"Ain't No Business Like Show Business"Shelley JensenStory by: Jeff Pollack & Will SmithTeleplay by: Jeff PollackApril 12, 1993 (1993-04-12)446971
7223"The Way We Were"Maynard C. VirgilMichael FryMay 3, 1993 (1993-05-03)446973
7324"Six Degrees of Graduation"Shelley JensenBryan Winter & Efrem SeegerMay 10, 1993 (1993-05-10)446972

text: Season 4 (1993–1994)[edit]

text:
No.overall

No. inseason

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

741"Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (Part 1)Shelley JensenGary H. MillerSeptember 20, 1993 (1993-09-20)60031
752"Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (Part 2)Shelley JensenGary H. MillerSeptember 20, 1993 (1993-09-20)60032
763"All Guts, No Glory"Shelley JensenMaiya WilliamsSeptember 27, 1993 (1993-09-27)60033
774"Father of the Year"Shelley JensenLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonOctober 4, 1993 (1993-10-04)60034
785"It's Better to Have Loved and Lost It…"Shelley JensenDavid ZuckermanOctober 11, 1993 (1993-10-11)60036
796"Will Goes a Courtin'"Shelley JensenBill BoulwareOctober 18, 1993 (1993-10-18)60037
807"Hex and the Single Guy"Shelley JensenBarry Gurstein & David PitlikOctober 25, 1993 (1993-10-25)60038
818"Blood is Thicker Than Mud"Chuck VinsonDevon ShepardNovember 1, 1993 (1993-11-01)60039
829"Fresh Prince After Dark"Shelley JensenEddie GorodetskyNovember 8, 1993 (1993-11-08)60035
8310"Home is Where the Heart Attack Is"Shelley JensenEddie GorodetskyNovember 15, 1993 (1993-11-15)60040
8411"Take My Cousin – Please"Shelley JensenDavid ZuckermanNovember 22, 1993 (1993-11-22)60041
8512"You've Got to Be a Football Hero"Shelley JensenBill BoulwareNovember 29, 1993 (1993-11-29)60042
8613"Twas the Night Before Christening"Shelley JensenMaiya Williams & Eddie GorodetskyDecember 20, 1993 (1993-12-20)60043
8714"Sleepless in Bel-Air"Shelley JensenMaiya WilliamsJanuary 3, 1994 (1994-01-03)60054
8815"Who's the Boss"Shelley JensenDavid Pitlik & Barry GursteinJanuary 10, 1994 (1994-01-10)60044
8916"I Know Why the Caged Bird Screams"Shelley JensenBill Boulware & David ZuckermanJanuary 24, 1994 (1994-01-24)60045
9017"When You Hit Upon a Star"Shelley JensenMichael SoccioJanuary 31, 1994 (1994-01-31)60046
9118"Stop Will! In the Name of Love"Maynard C. Virgil IStory by: Gayle AbramsTeleplay by: Gayle Abrams & Jenji KohanFebruary 14, 1994 (1994-02-14)60048
9219"You'd Better Shop Around"Shelley JensenDevon Shepard & K. SnyderFebruary 21, 1994 (1994-02-21)60047
9320"The Ol' Ball and Chain"Shelley JensenArnold Rudnick & Rich HosekFebruary 28, 1994 (1994-02-28)60049
9421"The Harder They Fall"Shelley JensenDevon ShepardMarch 14, 1994 (1994-03-14)60050
9522"M is for the Many Things She Gave Me"Shelley JensenGary H. MillerApril 25, 1994 (1994-04-25)60060
9623"Mother's Day"Madeline CripeLeslie Ray & David Steven SimonMay 2, 1994 (1994-05-02)60051
9724"Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"Shelley JensenBill Boulware & David ZuckermanMay 9, 1994 (1994-05-09)60053
9825"For Sale by Owner"Shelley JensenHarrison BoydMay 16, 1994 (1994-05-16)60061
9926"The Philadelphia Story"Shelley JensenMaiya Williams & Eddie GorodetskyMay 23, 1994 (1994-05-23)60052

text: Season 5 (1994–1995)[edit]

text:
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Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

1001"What's Will Got to Do with It?" (Part 1)Shelley JensenBarry Gurstein & David PitlikSeptember 19, 1994 (1994-09-19)60064
1012"The Client" (Part 2)Shelley JensenDavid Zuckerman & John RidleySeptember 19, 1994 (1994-09-19)60065
1023"Reality Bites"Shelley JensenDavid ZuckermanSeptember 26, 1994 (1994-09-26)60063
1034"Grumpy Young Men"Shelley JensenMichael SoccioOctober 3, 1994 (1994-10-03)60066
1045"Fresh Prince, the Movie"Shelley JensenGary H. MillerOctober 10, 1994 (1994-10-10)60062
1056"Will's Misery"Shelley JensenEddie GorodetskyOctober 17, 1994 (1994-10-17)60067
1067"Father Knows Best"Shelley JensenAndrea AllenOctober 24, 1994 (1994-10-24)60068
1078"Soul Train"Shelley JensenJohn RidleyNovember 7, 1994 (1994-11-07)60069
1089"Love Hurts"Shelley JensenBarry Gurstein & David PitlikNovember 14, 1994 (1994-11-14)60070
10910"Will's Up the Dirt Road"Shelley JensenBennie R. Richburg, Jr.November 21, 1994 (1994-11-21)60071
11011"Will Steps Out"Shelley JensenMaiya WilliamsNovember 28, 1994 (1994-11-28)60072
11112"Same Game, Next Season"Shelley JensenDavid ZuckermanDecember 12, 1994 (1994-12-12)60073
11213"Three's a Crowd"Shelley JensenJosh GoldsteinJanuary 9, 1995 (1995-01-09)60074
11314"It's a Wonderful Lie"Chuck VinsonGayle AbramsJanuary 23, 1995 (1995-01-23)60075
11415"Bullets over Bel-Air"Shelley JensenMaiya Williams & Eddie GorodetskyFebruary 6, 1995 (1995-02-06)60076
11516"A Decent Proposal"Shelley JensenDavid Pitlik & Barry GursteinFebruary 13, 1995 (1995-02-13)60077
11617"Will Is From Mars"Shelley JensenMichael Soccio & Andrea AllenFebruary 20, 1995 (1995-02-20)60078
11718"The Wedding Show (Psyche!)"Shelley JensenMaiya Williams & David ZuckermanFebruary 27, 1995 (1995-02-27)60079
11819"Slum Like It… Not!"Shelley JensenBennie R. Richburg, Jr.March 13, 1995 (1995-03-13)60080
11920"As the Will Turns"Shelley JensenDavid Pitlik & Barry GursteinApril 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)60081
12021"Save the Last Trance for Me"Shelley JensenMaiya Williams & Eddie GorodetskyApril 17, 1995 (1995-04-17)60082
12122"To Thine Own Self Be Blue… and Gold"Shelley JensenStory by: Roger GarrettTeleplay by: Ernest "Tron" AndersonApril 24, 1995 (1995-04-24)60083
12223"Cold Feet, Hot Body"Shelley JensenRon BurlaMay 1, 1995 (1995-05-01)60084
12324"Love in an Elevator"Maynard C. Virgil, IDavid Hoge & Dan CrossMay 8, 1995 (1995-05-08)60085
12425"For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll"Shelley JensenLeilani DownerMay 15, 1995 (1995-05-15)60086

text: Season 6 (1995–1996)[edit]

text:
No.overall

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Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

1251"Burnin' Down the House"Madeline CripeJoel Madison & Adam MarkowitzSeptember 18, 1995 (1995-09-18)60101
1262"Get a Job"Shelley JensenMort ScrivnerSeptember 25, 1995 (1995-09-25)60102
1273"Stress Related"Shelley JensenLarry WilmoreOctober 2, 1995 (1995-10-02)60103
1284"Bourgie Sings the Blues"Shelley JensenTom DevanneyOctober 9, 1995 (1995-10-09)60104
1295"The Script Formerly Known As…"Shelley JensenFelicia D. HendersonOctober 16, 1995 (1995-10-16)60105
1306"Not, I Barbecue"Madeline CripeKandace Yvette Williams & Matt TarsesOctober 23, 1995 (1995-10-23)60106
1317"Not With My Cousin You Don't"Shelley JensenAdam MarkowitzNovember 6, 1995 (1995-11-06)60107
1328"Viva Lost Wages"Shelley JensenRobert BruceNovember 13, 1995 (1995-11-13)60108
1339"There's the Rub" (Part 1)Shelley JensenJoel MadisonNovember 20, 1995 (1995-11-20)60109
13410"There's the Rub" (Part 2)Shelley JensenJoel MadisonNovember 20, 1995 (1995-11-20)60110
13511"I, Ooh, Baby Baby"Alfonso RibeiroTom Devanney & Adam MarkowitzDecember 11, 1995 (1995-12-11)60111
13612"Boxing Helena"Shelley JensenMichael SoccioJanuary 8, 1996 (1996-01-08)60112
13713"I, Clownius"Shelley JensenStory by: David WyattTeleplay by: George TrickerJanuary 15, 1996 (1996-01-15)60115
13814"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" (Part 1)Shelley JensenLisa RosenthalFebruary 12, 1996 (1996-02-12)60113
13915"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" (Part 2)Shelley JensenLisa RosenthalFebruary 19, 1996 (1996-02-19)60114
14016"I, Bowl Buster"Shelley JensenMichael SoccioFebruary 26, 1996 (1996-02-26)60117
14117"The Butler's Son Did It"Madeline CripeLisa RosenthalMarch 18, 1996 (1996-03-18)60116
14218"Hare Today…"Shelley JensenRobert BruceApril 8, 1996 (1996-04-08)60119
14319"Whoops, There It Is"Shelley JensenMary Beth Pemberton & Tanya WardApril 15, 1996 (1996-04-15)60124
14420"I, Stank Horse"Shelley JensenTom DevanneyApril 22, 1996 (1996-04-22)60120
14521"I, Stank Hole in One"Werner WalianMichael Soccio & Matt TarsesMay 6, 1996 (1996-05-06)60121
14622"Eye, Tooth"Shelley JensenAdam MarkowitzMay 13, 1996 (1996-05-13)60118
14723"I, Done" (Part 1)Shelley JensenJeff PollackMay 20, 1996 (1996-05-20)60122
14824"I, Done" (Part 2)Shelley JensenJeff PollackMay 20, 1996 (1996-05-20)60123

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Tied with Empty Nest

Jump up ^ Tied with Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and The Jackie Thomas Show

Jump up ^ Tied with Dave's World

tag: ol


document_title: Cylinder

question_text: how many plane surfaces does a cylinder have

text: Cylinder

text: Solid cylinders[edit]

text: The definitions and results in this section are taken from the 1913 text, Plane and Solid Geometry by George Wentworth and David Eugene Smith (Wentworth & Smith 1913).

tag: p

text: A cylindrical surface is a surface consisting of all the points on all the lines which are parallel to a given line and which pass through a fixed plane curve in a plane not parallel to the given line. Any line in this family of parallel lines is called an element of the cylindrical surface. From a kinematics point of view, given a plane curve, called the directrix, a cylindrical surface is that surface traced out by a line, called the generatrix, not in the plane of the directrix, moving parallel to itself and always passing through the directrix. Any particular position of the generatrix is an element of the cylindrical surface.

text: A solid bounded by a cylindrical surface and two parallel planes is called a (solid) cylinder. The line segments determined by an element of the cylindrical surface between the two parallel planes is called an element of the cylinder. All the elements of a cylinder have equal lengths. The region bounded by the cylindrical surface in either of the parallel planes is called a base of the cylinder. The two bases of a cylinder are congruent figures. If the elements of the cylinder are perpendicular to the planes containing the bases, the cylinder is a right cylinder, otherwise it is called an oblique cylinder. If the bases are disks (regions whose boundary is a circle) the cylinder is called a circular cylinder. In some elementary treatments, a cylinder always means a circular cylinder.[2]

text: The height (or altitude) of a cylinder is the perpendicular distance between its bases.

text: The cylinder obtained by rotating a line segment about a fixed line that it is parallel to is a cylinder of revolution. A cylinder of revolution is a right circular cylinder. The height of a cylinder of revolution is the length of the generating line segment. The line that the segment is revolved about is called the axis of the cylinder and it passes through the centers of the two bases.

text: Right circular cylinders[edit]

text: The unmodified term cylinder often refers to a solid cylinder with circular ends perpendicular to the axis, that is, a right circular cylinder, as shown in the figure. If the ends are missing, it is called an open cylinder. The formulae for the surface area and the volume of a right circular cylinder have been known from early antiquity.

text: A right circular cylinder can also be thought of as the solid of revolution generated by rotating a rectangle about one of its sides. These cylinders are used in an integration technique (the "disk method") for obtaining volumes of solids of revolution.[3]

text: Cylindric sections[edit]

text: A cylindric section is the intersection of a cylinder's surface with a plane. They are, in general, curves and are special types of plane sections. The cylindric section by a plane that contains two elements of a cylinder is a parallelogram.[4] Such a cylindric section of a right cylinder is a rectangle.[4]

text: A cylindric section in which the intersecting plane intersects and is perpendicular to all the elements of the cylinder is called a right section.[5] If a right section of a cylinder is a circle then the cylinder is a circular cylinder. In more generality, if a right section of a cylinder is a conic section (parabola, ellipse, hyperbola) then the solid cylinder is said to be parabolic, elliptic or hyperbolic respectively.

text: For a right circular cylinder, there are several ways in which planes can meet a cylinder. First, consider planes that intersect a base in at most one point. A plane is tangent to the cylinder if it meets the cylinder in a single element. The right sections are circles and all other planes intersect the cylindrical surface in an ellipse.[6] If a plane intersects a base of the cylinder in exactly two points then the line segment joining these points is part of the cylindric section. If such a plane contains two elements, it has a rectangle as a cylindric section, otherwise the sides of the cylindric section are portions of an ellipse. Finally, if a plane contains more than two points of a base, it contains the entire base and the cylindric section is a circle.

text: In the case of a right circular cylinder with a cylindric section that is an ellipse, the eccentricity e of the cylindric section and semi-major axis a of the cylindric section depend on the radius of the cylinder r and the angle α between the secant plane and cylinder axis, in the following way:

text: Volume[edit]

text: If the base of a circular cylinder has a radius r and the cylinder has height h, then its volume is given by

text: This formula holds whether or not the cylinder is a right cylinder.[7]

text: This formula may be established by using Cavalieri's principle.

text: In more generality, by the same principle, the volume of any cylinder is the product of the area of a base and the height. For example, an elliptic cylinder with a base having semi-major axis a, semi-minor axis b and height h has a volume V = Ah, where A is the area of the base ellipse (= πab). This result for right elliptic cylinders can also be obtained by integration, where the axis of the cylinder is taken as the positive x-axis and A(x) = A the area of each elliptic cross-section, thus:

text: Using cylindrical coordinates, the volume of a right circular cylinder can be calculated by integration over

text: Surface area[edit]

text: Having radius r and altitude (height) h, the surface area of a right circular cylinder, oriented so that its axis is vertical, consists of three parts:

text:
the area of the top base: πr2
the area of the bottom base: πr2
the area of the side: 2πrh

tag: ul

text: The area of the top and bottom bases is the same, and is called the base area, B. The area of the side is known as the lateral area, L.

text: An open cylinder does not include either top or bottom elements, and therefore has surface area (lateral area)

text: The surface area of the solid right circular cylinder is made up the sum of all three components: top, bottom and side. Its surface area is therefore,

text: where d = 2r is the diameter of the circular top or bottom.

text: For a given volume, the right circular cylinder with the smallest surface area has h = 2r. Equivalently, for a given surface area, the right circular cylinder with the largest volume has h = 2r, that is, the cylinder fits snugly in a cube of side length = altitude ( = diameter of base circle).[8]

text: The lateral area, L, of a circular cylinder, which need not be a right cylinder, is more generally given by:

text: where e is the length of an element and p is the perimeter of a right section of the cylinder.[9] This produces the previous formula for lateral area when the cylinder is a right circular cylinder.

text: Right circular hollow cylinder (cylindrical shell)[edit]

text: A right circular hollow cylinder (or cylindrical shell) is a three-dimensional region bounded by two right circular cylinders having the same axis and two parallel annular bases perpendicular to the cylinders' common axis, as in the diagram.

text: Let the height be h, internal radius r, and external radius R. The volume is given by

text: Thus, the volume of a cylindrical shell equals 2π(average radius)(altitude)(thickness).[10]

text: The surface area, including the top and bottom, is given by

text: Cylindrical shells are used in a common integration technique for finding volumes of solids of revolution.[11]

text: On the Sphere and Cylinder[edit]

text: In the treatise by this name, written c. 225 BCE, Archimedes obtained the result of which he was most proud, namely obtaining the formulas for the volume and surface area of a sphere by exploiting the relationship between a sphere and its circumscribed right circular cylinder of the same height and diameter. The sphere has a volume two-thirds that of the circumscribed cylinder and a surface area two-thirds that of the cylinder (including the bases). Since the values for the cylinder were already known, he obtained, for the first time, the corresponding values for the sphere. The volume of a sphere of radius r is 4/3πr3 = 2/3 (2πr3). The surface area of this sphere is 4πr2 = 2/3 (6πr2). A sculpted sphere and cylinder were placed on the tomb of Archimedes at his request.

text: Cylindrical surfaces[edit]

text: In some areas of geometry and topology the term cylinder refers to what we have called a cylindrical surface. To repeat, throughout this section a cylinder is defined as a surface consisting of all the points on all the lines which are parallel to a given line and which pass through a fixed plane curve in a plane not parallel to the given line.[12] Such cylinders have, at times, been referred to as generalized cylinders. Through each point of a generalized cylinder there passes a unique line that is contained in the cylinder.[13] Thus, this definition may be rephrased to say that a cylinder is any ruled surface spanned by a one-parameter family of parallel lines.

text: A cylinder having a right section that is an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola is called an elliptic cylinder, parabolic cylinder or hyperbolic cylinder, respectively. These are degenerate quadric surfaces.[14]

text: The general equation of a quadric in three dimensions is given by

text: with the coefficients being real numbers and not all of A, B and C being 0. If at least one variable does not appear in the equation, then the quadric is degenerate. If one variable is missing, we may assume by an appropriate rotation of axes that the variable z does not appear and the general equation of this type of degenerate quadric can be written as[15]

text: where

text:
If AB > 0 this is the equation of an elliptic cylinder.[15] Further simplification can be obtained by translation of axes and scalar multiplication. If

ρ

{\displaystyle \rho }

 has the same sign as the coefficients A and B, then the equation of an elliptic cylinder may be rewritten in Cartesian coordinates as:

text: This equation of an elliptic cylinder is a generalization of the equation of the ordinary, circular cylinder (a = b). Elliptic cylinders are also known as cylindroids, but that name is ambiguous, as it can also refer to the Plücker conoid.

text:
If

ρ

{\displaystyle \rho }

 has a different sign than the coefficients, we obtain the imaginary elliptic cylinders:

text:
which have no real points on them. (

ρ
=
0

{\displaystyle \rho =0}

 gives a single real point.)

text:
If A and B have different signs and

ρ
≠
0

{\displaystyle \rho \neq 0}

, we obtain the hyperbolic cylinders, whose equations may be rewritten as:

text: Finally, if AB = 0 assume, without loss of generality, that B = 0 and A = 1 to obtain the parabolic cylinders with equations that can be written as:[16]

text: Projective geometry[edit]

text: In projective geometry, a cylinder is simply a cone whose apex (vertex) lies on the plane at infinity. If the cone is a quadratic cone, the plane at infinity passing through the vertex can intersect the cone at two real lines, a single real line (actually a coincident pair of lines), or only at the vertex. These cases give rise to the hyperbolic, parabolic or elliptic cylinders respectively.[17]

text: This concept is useful when considering degenerate conics, which may include the cylindrical conics.

text: Prisms[edit]

text: A solid circular cylinder can be seen as the limiting case of a n-gonal prism where n approaches infinity. The connection is very strong and many older texts treat prisms and cylinders simultaneously. Formulas for surface area and volume are derived from the corresponding formulas for prisms by using inscribed and circumscribed prisms and then letting the number of sides of the prism increase without bound.[18] Indeed, one reason for the early emphasis (and sometimes exclusive treatment) on circular cylinders is that a circular base is the only type of geometric figure for which this technique works with the use of only elementary considerations (no appeal to calculus or more advanced mathematics). Terminology about prisms and cylinders is identical. Thus, for example, since a truncated prism is a prism whose bases do not lie in parallel planes, a solid cylinder whose bases do not lie in parallel planes would be called a truncated cylinder.

text: From a polyhedral viewpoint, a cylinder can also be seen as a dual of a bicone as an infinite-sided bipyramid.

text:
Family of uniform prisms

Polyhedron

Coxeter

Tiling

Config.
3.4.4
4.4.4
5.4.4
6.4.4
7.4.4
8.4.4
9.4.4
10.4.4
11.4.4
12.4.4