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Christmas through Milan’s monuments
An itinerary around the city leading into the Christmas spirit, discovering monuments and paintings which celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ over the centuries.
Christmas History and Tradition
Christmas also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the Anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC. December 25 is not known to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival or the winter solstice. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means "the birthday of the unconquered Sun". The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers' god of Persian origin. Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.
Ambrosian Christmas Liturgy
The liturgy and Rite of the Church of Milan derives its name from St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (374-397).There is no direct evidence that the Rite was in any way the composition of St. Ambrose, but his name has been associated with it since the 8th century at least, and it is not improbable that in his day it took not indeed a final form, for it has been subject to various revisions from time to time, but a form which included the principal characteristics which distinguish it from other rites. It is to be remembered that St. Ambrose succeeded the Arian Auxentius, during whose long episcopate, 355 to 374, it would seem probable that Arian modifications may have been introduced, though on that point we have no information, into a rite the period of whose original composition is unknown. If, as would necessarily happen, St. Ambrose expunged this hypothetical unorthodoxy and issued corrected service books, this alone would suffice to attach his name to it. The characteristics of this liturgy are the strong Christ-Centric vision, the similarity with the Orientals Liturgy and the Ambrosian Chants.
Christmas Tree
The custom of erecting a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century Germany, though neither an inventor nor a single town can be identified as the sole origin for the tradition. The earliest that a pine tree was ever used and decorated for Christmas was in 1521 in Germany (in the region of Alsace). From this singular point in time, we see the rapid spread of this tradition throughout Germany and eventually the world. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century, however, that it spread rapidly and grew into a general German custom, which was soon accepted also by the Slavic people of Eastern Europe. In the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, the church record mentions the erection of a Christmas tree.
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