Significance of Christmas
V.N. Gopalakrishnan Christmas is a festival celebrated by Christians the world over on December 25, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is the celebration of love, generosity, benevolence, peace, kindness, brotherhood, and familial bonding. The word Christmas has derived from the Old English ‘Cristes Maese’ (Christ’s Mass). Jesus Christ also called Jesus of Nazareth was the founder of Christianity. According to the Biblical Gospel accounts, miraculous events surrounded the conception and birth of Jesus. He was the son of Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, but is believed to have been miraculously conceived by his mother, Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that he was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. He was baptized by John, the Baptist and he preached a message of religious reform and divine love. Christianity is a major religion stemming from the life, teachings and death of Jesus Christ. There are three principal groups of Christi