MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ESBE

2023-12-19

We want to wish everyone a truly Merry Christmas. Take care of yourself and enjoy spending time with loved ones. Treat yourself to a few days of rest and reflection.

Christmas is one of Christianity’s most important holidays, with the birth of Jesus at its core. The Bible does not specify Jesus’ birthday. So why do we celebrate his birth on December 25th

A bit of Christmas history

We have to go back to the 4th century AD to find the reason why most Christian countries celebrate Christmas on December 25th. At that time, the Roman Empire ruled almost all of Europe and the Middle East. In the Roman Empire, the birth of the sun god Saturn was celebrated on December 25th. The festivities lasted for several days, much like today. People invited family and friends, exchanged gifts, and enjoyed the celebrations.

The Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and together with the church, they realized it was wise to use the festivities to promote the new religion. They simply decided to celebrate Jesus’ birthday on the same day as the sun god’s to avoid unrest and to facilitate the spread of Christianity throughout the rest of the Roman Empire.

The Nordic countries celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 24th. According to the Swedish site World History, this is because the Nordic region clung to the time before the mechanical clock. In those times, a new day began at sunset instead of midnight, as it does today.

ESBE’s popular Christmas video

Speaking of Christmas history, the third time’s the charm as we put together our own holiday greeting from the headquarters. Enjoy!

From all of us to all of you – a very Merry Christmas!

ESBE’s thoughts and an extra gift go to Ukraine

Unfortunately, not everyone experiences a joyful Christmas, no matter how much we wish for it. That’s why this year, we’ve chosen to give an extra gift to UNHCR, earmarked for the people in Ukraine.

Link to UNHCR

With that said, we wish everyone as Merry a Christmas as the circumstances allow.

ESBE world wide opening hours 2023
🇸🇪 Sweden: Closed December 24th – January 1st
🇩🇪 Germany: Closed December 25th – January 1st
🇵🇱 Poland: Open as usual
🇫🇷 France: Closed December 25th – January 2nd
🇮🇹 Italy: Closed December 25th – January 2nd