Christmas is an annual festival, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ,[8][9] observed primarily on December 25[4][10][11] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.[2][12][13] A feast central to the Christianliturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night;[14] in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave.[15] Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations,[16][17][18] is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians,[19] as well as culturally by many non-Christians,[1][20] and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.
Christmas
Christmas Day
A depiction of the Nativity of Jesus with a Christmas tree backdrop
Also calledNoël, Nativity, Xmas, Yule
Observed byChristians, many non-Christians[1][2]
TypeChristian, cultural
SignificanceCommemoration of the Nativity of Jesus
CelebrationsGift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, feasting etc.
ObservancesChurch services
Date