Christianity started in the first century C.E. The earliest Christians were persecuted until the Roman Empire recognized them as a religion. The man prophet of Christianity is Jesus, Gods son. Christians believe that Jesus has followers and that his earliest saints and followers came from the Middle East. Many aspects of Christianity were based off of Judaism, but one major difference is that Christians don't follow Jewish Law.
The biggest thing that all Christians believe in is that there is only one true God. Another major belief is that Jesus is the son of God, born to the virgin Mary and came to Earth to offer redemption to those who have sinned. The sign of the cross is also very respected in Christianity, the sign of the cross shows the belief that God is revealed through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians show and respect these beliefs by going to church and praying. The masses are ran by priests or ministers. In every mass, they reflect and read from the Bible, the holy book of Christianity, and go to communion which is the eating and drinking of Jesus's blood and body. Lastly, Christians believe and live by the 10 commandments, which are the rules and principles of the religion.
Christianity isn't just one big religion, there are actually 33,000 different branches of Christianity. For example, Protestant, Catholic, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Maronite. Eastern Orthodox formed when followers disagreed with the Pope and split from the main stream of Christianity. Protestants are mainly in the United States and Roman Catholics are mainly in Latin America.
Christmas is the major holiday, it is a day of celebrating Jesus's birth. Traditions for Christmas are going to mass and having a big feast with loved ones and family. Another tradition is Easter, this is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. On Easter, Christians go to mass and spend time with family. The month leading up to Easter is known as Lent. During Lent, Christians give up something to show sacrifice and self denial. They also don't eat any meat on the Fridays during Lent. The week before Easter, is known as Holy Week. This includes Palm Sunday, which is the entrance of Jesus' into Jerusalem before his crucifix, next is Holy Thursday, which is the day that Jesus had his Last Supper and gave up his body and blood to the Lord. Then is Good Friday, which is the fasting of the day that Jesus died. Lastly is Holy Saturday, which is the day that Christians pray over Jesus's death. Another tradition is Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent when followers receive ashes on their foreheads to represent the sacrifice and self denial.
Some fun facts of Christianity are that Churches are normal built in the shape of the cross and face East towards the rising sun. There are 2.18 million Christians in the world and in 2010 the Catholic church had an income of $97 billion.
By: Julie Maduros and Kali Mardjetko B1