About Christmas Day
Christmas Day is celebrated on 25 December and commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in the Christian tradition. The date was set in fourth-century Rome and likely chosen to repurpose existing midwinter festivals — Sol Invictus and Saturnalia in particular — into a Christian feast. The day has since grown into a broader cultural holiday observed by Christians and non-Christians alike. Eastern Orthodox churches that still follow the Julian calendar mark it on 7 January in the Gregorian reckoning. Christmas is a public holiday across most of Europe, the Americas, Oceania and many countries in Africa and Asia.
Christmas customs vary widely but usually centre on family meals, exchanging gifts under a decorated tree, and attending church services on the evening of 24 December or the morning of the 25th. The figure of Santa Claus — derived from Saint Nicholas via Dutch Sinterklaas — delivers presents in much of the English-speaking world, while many European countries keep older traditions: the Christ Child (Christkind) in parts of Germany and Austria, Father Christmas in the United Kingdom, the Three Kings in Spain. Typical meals range from roast goose or turkey to fish dinners, panettone and Christmas pudding. Carols, nativity scenes and Christmas markets fill the weeks leading up to the day.