Accra, the capital city of Ghana, boasts the largest Christmas celebrations in the country. However, you'll also find festivities taking place in other towns such as Kumasi, Tamale, Cape Coast, and Ashaiman.
Christmas, Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. The English term Christmas (“mass on Christ's dayâ€) is of fairly recent origin. The earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanic jÅl or the Anglo-Saxon geÅl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice.
Christmas, also known as the 'Feast day of Christ', is celebrated on December 25 every year. The day marks the birthday of Jesus Christ. This festival is celebrated across the globe as a religious holiday, and as a time of celebration by Christians. It is also celebrated by non-Christians as a seasonal holiday.
Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas. Christmas is now celebrated by people around the world, whether they are Christians or not.
In Africa, Christmas is all about festive concerts, sunny outdoor feasts and Christmas street parades. For almost everyone in Africa, Christmas is a time to gather with friends and family, go to church and enjoy a big feast – but every country also has its own unique festive traditions.
In Ghana, the celebrations begin on Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It is common to find church congregations in processions waving palm branches and white handkerchiefs while singing praises to God. Most Ghanaians also commemorate the day with events to celebrate Easter.
People in Ghana celebrate Christmas from the 20th of December to the first week in January with lots of different activities. Many people travel to visit their relatives and friends in other parts of the country. December is also the start of the cocoa harvest (the bean that makes chocolate) in Ghana.
Christmas Day celebrates the Nativity of Jesus which according to tradition took place on December 25th 1 BC. December 25th will be a public holiday in most countries around the world. If 25 December falls on a weekend, then a nearby week day may be taken as a holiday in lieu.
In Swahili/Kiswahili (a language spoken in Kenya) Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Heri ya Krismasi' and the response is 'Wewe pia' (you also). In the Maasai language (also called Maa or Kimaasai) it's 'nchipai e Kirismas'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.
State Library's final 'word of the week' for the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages is gayaay gaangangindaay , from the Gamilaraay language of South-West Queensland. It means 'Merry Christmas' and is a contemporary word derived from 'Happy birth of Jesus'.
Say Merry Christmas in 10 different languages
- French: Joyeux Noël.
- German: Frohe Weinachten.
- Spanish: Feliz Navidad.
- Italian: Buon Natale.
- Portuguese: Feliz Natal.
- Dutch: Vrolijk kerstfeest.
- Romanian: Crăciun fericit.
- Polish: Wesołych świąt Bożego Narodzenia.
Santa Claus—otherwise known as Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle—has a long history steeped in Christmas traditions.
The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus' conception to March 25 (the same date upon which he held that the world was created), which, after nine months in his mother's womb, would result in a December 25 birth.
The modern character of Santa Claus was based on traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas (a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra), the English figure of Father Christmas, and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas (also based on Saint Nicholas).
ExploreHow old is Santa? Saint Nicholas was born in 270 AD. That would make him 1,747 years old.
According to Christianity Today, it was around the year 273 that the church considered commandeering the existing pagan festival of winter solstice as fitting time to honor the son of God. Western Christians officially began celebrating December 25 as the birth of Jesus in 336 AD. So there you have it!
New Zealand is the first country on the western side of the International Date Line, the place where each day begins.
Christmas Is Rooted in PaganismIn addition to Christmas having no Scriptural basis, it is important to note that the celebration of this holiday did not stem from Christian or Church-based doctrines. In fact, modern Christmas practices evolved directly from pagan traditions that predated the birth of Christ.
The first recorded incidence of Christmas being celebrated actually dates all the way back to the Roman Empire in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine – so technically the Romans invented it, although there's no specific person who is credited with having done so.
