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Show tZecordi Show Jute Cudtomi Were Ofd 3n 'fourth (Century. The exact age of the Christmas festival is not known. Records show, however, that the holiday was spoken of in the fourth century as a custom of long standing. Christmas began as Christ' j Mass, or the Mass of Christ, sometime during the fourth century. It took that long after the blessed night for the great importance of Christ's birth to be realized by the people. Until this time it had been the custom cus-tom of the church to celebrate the anniversaries of deaths, rather than births. Christ's birthday was the first to be made an occasion for feasting. The date for the celebration of ( the Christ Mass was selected by the church. So many years had elapsed that the actual date of His birth could only be a matter of conjecture. conjec-ture. The festival and spirit of Christmas Christ-mas spread through the Christian worlds. Pagan customs, even as they do today, attempted to adapt themselves to the Christmas season. For many years after the origin of Christ's Mass the church frowned upon the practice of exchanging gifts during the festival season. Later, however, the practice was condoned, in remembrance of the spirit of the Three Kings of the Orient who had followed a shining star to the crib of the new-born Christ, bringing presents with a sense of humility. |