Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday
in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December
25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. According to
the Christian gospels, Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem,
where she and her husband Joseph had travelled to register
in the Roman census. Christ's birth, or nativity, was
said by his followers to fulfill the prophecies of Judaism
that a messiah would come, from the house of David, to
redeem the world from sin. Early Christians celebrated
more the subsequent Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was
visited by the Magi. Efforts to assign a date for his
birth began some centuries later. The precise chronology
of Jesus' birth and death as well as the historicity of
Jesus are still debated. In predominantly Christian countries,
Christmas has become the most economically significant
holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular
holiday in many countries with small Christian populations.
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