a b Forbes, Bruce David (October 1, 2008). Christmas: A Candid History. University of California Press. p.27. ISBN 978-0-520-25802-0. In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. The Liturgical Year. Thomas Nelson. November 3, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4185-8073-5 . Retrieved April 2, 2009. Christmas is not really about the celebration of a birth date at all. It is about the celebration of a birth. The fact of the date and the fact of the birth are two different things. The calendrical verification of the feast itself is not really that important ... What is important to the understanding of a life-changing moment is that it happened, not necessarily where or when it happened. The message is clear: Christmas is not about marking the actual birth date of Jesus. It is about the Incarnation of the One who became like us in all things but sin ( Hebrews 4:15) and who humbled Himself "to the point of death-even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8). Christmas is a pinnacle feast, yes, but it is not the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a memorial, a remembrance, of the birth of Jesus, not really a celebration of the day itself. We remember that because the Jesus of history was born, the Resurrection of the Christ of faith could happen. One of the UK's favourite nativities,'Wriggly Nativity' is designed for children who just can't sit still! Every angel, sheep, shepherd and lamb will be using all their excited energy to wriggle their way through this little musical. Irresistible!

Very good! The children loved the actions and the humour in the songs, everyone was involved and it was easy to organise - even with 110 Y1 & Yr2 children!What was the name of the prophetess that the Holy Family met when presenting Jesus at the temple? Anna

A Wriggly Nativity' tells the Christmas story almost entirely through songs, actions, movement and dance. Everything is easy to learn, there is very little dialogue and the narration between songs is brief. The songs have actions for the whole choir, so every child is specifically required NOT to sit still while singing! Great fun. The treatise De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, pseudepigraphically attributed to John Chrysostom and dating to the early fourth century, [77] [78] also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as March 25. [79] [80] This anonymous tract also states: "But Our Lord, too, is born in the month of December... the eight before the calends of January [25 December]..., But they call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice." [24] Solstice date hypothesis Our selection of children's Christmas plays includes pantomimes andChristmas musicals, as well as Early Years productions that don't necessarily include the traditional nativity story. a b "In the U.S., Christmas Not Just for Christians". Gallup, Inc. December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012 . Retrieved December 16, 2012.

Christmas Day" redirects here. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Christmas Day (disambiguation). Why did Mary and Joseph have to travel to Nazareth while Mary was pregnant? A. To register for the census A number of figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus (derived from the Dutch for Saint Nicholas), Père Noël, and the Weihnachtsmann; Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas; the Christkind; Kris Kringle; Joulupukki; tomte/nisse; Babbo Natale; Saint Basil; and Ded Moroz. The Scandinavian tomte (also called nisse) is sometimes depicted as a gnome instead of Santa Claus.