Christmas 25th. December.

Christmas.

Christmas Christmas Day
A depiction of the Nativity of Jesus with a Christmas tree backdrop
Also called	Noël, Nativity, Xmas, Yule
Observed by	Christians, many non-Christians
Type	Christian, cultural
Significance	Traditional commemoration of the birth of Jesus
Observances	Church services, gift giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decorating
Date	December 25 – all Western and some Eastern churches January 7 (Julian December 25) – some Eastern churches January 6 – most of Armenian Christianity January 19 (Julian January 6) – some Armenian Christians
Frequency	annual
Related to	Christmastide, Christmas Eve, Advent,Annunciation, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Nativity Fast, Nativity of Christ,Yule

Christmas or Christmas Day(Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual festival commemorating-the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly onDecember 2 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season ofAdvent or Nativity Fast and is prolonged by the Octave of Christmas and further by the season of Christmastide. Christmas Day is a public holidayin many of the world's nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secularthemes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing anAdvent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music andcaroling, an exchange ofChristmas cards, church services, a 

special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known asSanta Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

While the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid 4th century, theWestern Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted in the East, although some churches celebrate on the December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which, in the Gregorian calendar, currently corresponds to January 7, the day after the Western Christian Church celebrates the Epiphany. The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians believed Jesus to have been conceived, or with one or more ancient polytheistic festivals that occurred near southern solstice (i.e., the Roman winter solstice); a further solarconnection has been suggested because of a biblical verse identifying Jesus as the "Sun of righteousness"..