2012New Year - First Day Cover

Birth of the God – man the Christian world celebrates for ages. The meaning of the word Christmas as a little God in Christianity means that the God is available and accessible to every man. By the end of the 4th century, Christmas was celebrated on 6th January but then was moved to the 25th December in order to suppressed, since the Emperor Aurelius (270-275), introduced Roman feast of Natalis Solis Invicti.
The Bible interprets the birth of Jesus as an event which has happened to the glory of God in the heights and for the peace to men of good will. In the Old Testament prophets foretold the birth of the Messiah who would redeem people form sins, while the New Testament brings the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, the Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary gave birth with the help of her husband Joseph. He was born in a stable in Bethlehem in Judea because the inn had no room for them.
Christians considered a day of the Jesus’ birth as the day of the New Year. In the period of renewed Western Roman Empire almost in whole Europe the beginning of the new year was at Christmas. In 1691 Church accepted the 1st January as the New Year. Christmas and New Year’s customs have been shaped through centuries under the influence of different nations and regions. They are common throughout Christian world but each region breathed something of their own and made them recognizable.