Finding the Higgs-Boson particle

On July 4, 2012, scientists from Europe's CERN lab in Geneva, Switzerland, presented strong evidence of a particle they believe is the Higgs-Boson, sometimes referred to as the God-particle. Why is this discovery so meaningful and important? As popular physicist and author Michio Kaku wrote:

"In quantum physics, it was a Higgs-like particle that sparked the cosmic explosion (that is, the big bang). In other words, everything we see around us, including galaxies, stars, planets, and us, owes its existence to the Higgs-Boson."

In layman's terms, the Higgs-Boson is the particle that gives mass to matter and offers a possible explanation for how the Earth was originally created and hence, its huge popularity in mainstream media channels.