The word Christmas is a translation of the Greek word Christ. Catholics tend to use the word Christmas and Protestants use the word Christmas (feast). Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas for centuries. He was the long-awaited savior of the world. At Christmas, Christians celebrate that God Himself made the effort to come to earth as a human being. He did this to save humanity from sin and injustice. In the life of Jesus, we see him taking action in words and deeds against injustice in society. He overcame sin through his death on the cross. He calls himself the Light of the world. For all who believe in Jesus Christ, forgiveness and salvation is with God. Still today, even among non-Christians we see this Christmas spirit reflected in themes such as light in the night, mercy and giving love.
The date on which we celebrate Christmas is not the actual day of Jesus’ birth. This date was chosen to abolish another feast as a result. In fact, in the first centuries AD, the sun was worshiped on December 25. Pope Julius the second wanted to abolish the worship of the sun because only Jesus Christ is the true Light of the world and only He deserves worship.
What does Santa Claus have to do with Christmas?
Santa Claus has many similarities to St. Nicholas and this is not accidental. Santa Claus is a corruption of Sinterklaas and was invented by Americans based on ideas that Dutch immigrants brought with them. What really made Santa Claus famous was Coca Cola’s commercials in the 1930s. So Santa Claus has not been around for very long at all, is inspired by Sinterklaas and originally has nothing to do with Christmas. Nowadays, Santa Claus is increasingly displacing the original meaning of Christmas.