There does not seem to have been any special observance of the nativity until the celebration in the Eastern Church (or Greek Christian Church) in A.D. 220 The Western (or Latin) Church began to cele brate it about a century later. Both adopted the uniform date about A.D. 380. There are some writers, however, who affirm that it was solemnly celebrated among the early Christians in the second century. Chronologists disagree as to the exact year of the nativity, but the majority believe it was B.C. 5. The celebration was at first held on January 6, but toward the end of the fourth century it was changed to December 25. The Christmas tree, it is said, was first used in Europe in the eighth or ninth century, and was introduced by a German or Hungarian princess.
