Christianity is the largest religion with over 2.4 billion followers. They have a few religious festivals, and nearly all of us celebrate them in some way, whether we are Christian or not.

Origins

The Christian religion started over 2000 years ago. Below is an image of what Jesus Christ could have looked like as a man:

The birth of Jesus Christ

Below is a video explaining about the Nativity story:

The primary language for the video is English, but subtitles are available for other languages.

If your school or server blocks YouTube, here is the video below (no subtitles):

Different types of Christianity

There are multiple types of Christianity. The main two types are Catholics and Protestants.

Traditions

Christianity has a wide range of traditions taking place throughout the year. Some of these are well-known, such as Christmas and Easter, while other traditions aren’t as well-known.

Christmas

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth. These celebrations are around the 25th December, with practising Christians gathering in churches for special services. Families, Christian and non-Christian, gather together to eat a roast dinner.

Easter

Easter is the time of year where Christians from around the world celebrate Jesus rising from the dead after being hung on the cross 3 days earlier. Many people, including non-Christians, eat chocolate eggs to celebrate.

Pilgrimages to holy sites

There are many holy sites that Christians take a pilgrimage to across the world.

Jerusalem

The holy city of Jerusalem is a key holy pilgrimage site for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Christians believe that Jesus visited Jerusalem during Passover and was there for a week before he died.

Lourdes

Lourdes is a famous Christian pilgrimage because there are claims that the Virgin Mary appeared to local woman Bernadette Soubirous on 18 separate occasions.

Iona

Iona is a small island off the coast of Scotland. Christians visit the island to see Iona Abbey, a monastery that was established in 563AD by Saint Columba.

What Christians believe

Christians believe in one God.

Churches

Churches are where Christians gather to worship. But this isn’t all they’re used for. Churches can act as a community centre where locals come together for local events, such as markets and fairs.