For Christians in England, Scotland and Wales, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the ‘mass’ (service/celebration) of Christ. For these people, it is an extremely important time of the year. It is a chance for everybody to gather together, generally at your local church, to sing carols, read hymns and excerpts from the Bible to celebrate Christ’s birth.
The word Christmas derives from the Old English name ‘Cristes Maesse’. The first recorded celebration occurred in Rome in AD360, though the fixed date of December 25th came about around AD440. Typically, in Church of England schools, children will put on a nativity play for parents to watch, which recreates the story of how Jesus was born when Mary and Joseph travel to Jerusalem in search of shelter. This in particular is a common and popular Christmas card design.
The idea of giving presents and gifts to people comes from the Bible story, where Jesus was given gold, Frankincense and Myrrh by the Three Kings. This idea has carried on since celebrations began, and whilst the presents may have changed significantly since then, the fundamentals have remained the same.