BobRingReflections

My last blog article was on the history of Thanksgiving.  As promised, this article will explore the history of our Christmas holiday.   After a short introduction, I will cover the non-religious forerunners of the Christmas celebration, and then talk about the origin and history of Christmas as a religious celebration, and its evolution to a combined religious/secular holiday.   Next, I will talk about Christmas traditions, and conclude with some interesting facts about Christmas.   I will recognize the international celebration of Christmas today, but will focus on the history of the holiday in the Western World, and particularly America. My principal resources include “History of Christmas - Origins, Traditions, and Facts,” history.com; “Christmas,” Wikipedia; “Christmas - Origin, Definition, Traditions, History, & Facts,” britannica.com; “A Brief History of Christmas,” voiceandvisioninc.org; “What is The History of Christmas? Why we celebrate Christmas,...