Christmas 2016

Christmas - a time when religious and national leaders express their good wishes and desire for a better world, often couched in terms of peace, health and hope for the coming year. The choice of December 25 is associated with the birth of Jesus, the central figure in the Christian faith and part of the Holy Trinity of  Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  The actual date of birth of Jesus is unknown and hence the choice of 25 December originates from the 4th Century AD through the Western Christian Church and recorded in the Gregorian calendar. The Easter Christian Church uses the Julian calendar which would place the date at January 7, however there is little actual disagreement on the date itself. Through the mechanism of the 12 days of Epiphany both the Eastern and Western Churches are, in any case, linked.  The origin of the the use of the 25th December may also be more an influence of the pagan Romans who used this date to acknowledge the start of the Winter solstice. During the early period of the Christian Church, there was various attempts at over-running existing Roman festivals which occured at year-end thus creating an early form of spin doctoring and brand message creation.

Wherever you may be, happy holidays.