This reading shocked me in many different ways! The first thing that I found interesting was the argue about when Christmas should be held. This reading said that in any parts of the bible there is no exact place that tells us when baby Jesus was born but many have argued it to be certain days. For some they believe it should have been held in March, April, or even November but they could never agree on an exact date. So what they ended up doing was picking the date in between the three Roman midwinter festivals, which was December 25th. I was very surprised hearing this because for a long time I thought we knew this was the day baby Jesus was born but really it is just a guess. So when I am celebrating Christmas from now on I will know that it might not actually be the right day to be celebrating. The second piece of writing that I didn’t realize was the fact that Americans didn’t really start celebrating Christmas and giving out gifts until the late nineteenth century when Santa Clause was created. The fact that Santa Clause was not always present in the Christmas tradition shocks me. I for one can not see Christmas without Santa Clause! It says that in the eighteen hundreds they had such things as Christmas cards and Christmas trees but no Santa Clause. I can not believe that Santa  Clause came after the tree and cards part of Christmas, I always thought it was the other way around. After reading the historical background of Christmas some things do change for me. First I believe I get too wrapped up with the presents part of Christmas because thats what I thought it has always been like but from now on I think I will appreciate the religious background more. Yes I go to church every Christmas Eve but I dont think I ever really appreciate it as much as I should. Also knowing that December 25th may not be the birth of Jesus will cause me to celebrate him often and not just for that one day and evening. For me personally I dont think I have ever heard a claim that there is a “war on Christmas” but I do want to learn what they mean by that. This article shocked me and changed my view on Christmas for the better!