According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the word...

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the word Christmas comes from the late Old English phrase, Cristes Maesse, meaning the Mass of Christ. The first reference to it is found in AD 1038. A celebration of Jesus of Nazareth’s birth was not among the earliest festivals of the Christian church. The first evidence of the feast dates from about AD 200 in Alexandria in Egypt. Egyptian theologians assigned the date of Christ’s birth to May 20 in the 28th year of the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus. Later, Pope Julius I in the 4th century fixed the day as Dec. 25, near the Roman Saturnalia festival (Dec. 17-21), a traditional pagan celebration of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

* For early Christians, Christmas was a solemn occasion for prayer and reflection. The pagan traditions of gift-giving, feasting and decorating gradually were incorporated into the Christian celebration. During the Puritan Reformation in England, Christmas was forbidden by an act of Parliament in 1644; the day was for fasting and shops were compelled to be open. Plum puddings and mince pies were condemned as heathen. King George I reestablished plum pudding as a part of the annual Christmas feast in 1714.

* The decorating of Christmas trees has its roots in Germany. It is generally believed that Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria, first popularized the custom in England. The creche or Nativity scene originated in Italy in 1223. St. Francis of Assisi performed Mass in front of a Nativity scene. The custom inspired an entire genre of folk art.

* The U.S. Communist Party has offered its take on Christmas as a revolutionary holiday. Joseph and his pregnant wife, Mary, are “forced to make a difficult journey . . . to comply with the demands of their imperial rulers . . . “ Homeless, Mary gives birth in a stable and the child “goes on to organize a movement for social and economic change . . . composed of a coalition of fishermen, reformed prostitutes, the unemployed and low-level public servants . . . “ Merry Christmas!