Christmas Day" redirects here. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Christmas Day (disambiguation).
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. The holiday was first sanctioned by the Roman state Church in the early-to-mid 4th century to commemorate the the birth of Jesus Christ, and remains one of the central feasts in the Christian liturgical year. The exact birthday of Jesus is not known, and the date for Christmas is thought to have been selected to coincide with either the date of the Roman winter solstice, one of various ancient winter festivals, or the day exactly nine months after Jesus’ traditional conception date.
The holiday was initially instituted to commemorate solely the nativity of Jesus, and many celebrants continue to incorporate this element at the forefront of their celebrations. However, many customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus’ birth, and are today considered secular. Certain elements from pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity, became syncretized into Christmas over the centuries, including the Yule log from Yule and gift giving from Saturnalia.The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a raucous, drunken, carnival-like state through the Middle Ages, to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme since a 19th-century reformation.The celebration of Christmas has been banned on more than one occasion within Christendom due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.
In addition to being widely celebrated by the adherents of most denominations of Christianity, Christmas is observed by an increasing number of non-Christians worldwide. It is also an officially-recognized holiday in a vast majority of the world's nations, including ones that separate religion from government and/or have a negligible population of Christians. Popular worldwide Christmas customs as of the 21st century include gift giving, music, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus, among other names, have become associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.
Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.Because gift giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among the holiday's billions of celebrants, the holiday has also become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses around the world. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world
