When Is Christmas Day 2025?25Dec2025Thu, Dec 25, 2025 Add to calendarChristmas Day 2025

Thu, Dec 25, 2025

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Christmas is celebrated on December 25 as both a Christian holiday and a global cultural tradition. It honors the birth of Jesus Christ and includes festive customs like gift-giving, decorations, and seasonal music.

Santa Claus, the modern figure inspired by St. Nicholas, is one of the most recognizable symbols of Christmas.

©iStockphoto.com/SeventyFour

Every December, millions of people gather around glowing trees, exchange gifts, sing familiar songs, and share festive meals. But what lies at the heart of Christmas? For Christians, it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, whom they believe to be the Son of God.

For others, it is a season of family, generosity, and togetherness. Over the centuries, Christmas has become both a deeply religious holiday and a global cultural tradition, blending faith, folklore, and festivity.

The origins of Christmas stretch back over 2000 years. According to the Bible, the first Christmas took place in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a humble stable. Yet the choice of December 25 as the holiday date was likely influenced by earlier winter solstice festivals.

In ancient Rome, mid-December featured Saturnalia, a lively festival of feasting, gift-giving, and social merrymaking. December 25 was later celebrated as the birthday of the Roman god Sol Invictus, the ‘Unconquered Sun,’ and some scholars suggest this may have influenced the choice of date for early Christian celebrations of Jesus’ birth.

In northern Europe, Yule marked midwinter with bonfires, evergreen rituals, and yule logs. Over time, Christian and local customs intertwined, creating a holiday that honored both sacred story and seasonal joy.

By the Middle Ages, Christmas was celebrated across Europe with church services, Nativity plays, and carols, but for most people, it also meant feasts, music, and lively, often unruly festivities.

Many modern traditions emerged later. For example, the Christmas tree, now central to celebrations, was introduced to the English-speaking world in the 19th century, having originated in Germany and the Baltic region.

Writers like Charles Dickens, the invention of Christmas cards, and the growing tradition of family gift exchanges helped shape the holiday as we know it today.

Though traditions vary by culture, certain symbols and customs unite Christmas celebrations around the world. Homes sparkle with Christmas lights. Families gather around decorated trees—often topped with a star or angel—to exchange gifts. Christmas carols and festive songs fill both churches and city streets.

Some count down the season with Advent calendars or wreaths, while others come together for special meals, from simple family dinners to elaborate holiday meals. And amid these many traditions, “Merry Christmas” is one of the cheerful greetings often shared at this time of year.

Perhaps no figure is more associated with modern Christmas than Santa Claus—the jolly man in red who delivers presents on Christmas Eve. His story begins with Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop known for his generosity. Dutch settlers carried the legend of Sinterklaas to America, where it merged with English and German traditions to form today’s Santa Claus, also called Father Christmas.

By the 19th century, poems such as A Visit from St. Nicholas and magazine illustrations helped shape Santa’s image, which was further popularized in the 20th century through advertising campaigns, creating the plump, red-suited, white-bearded figure we know today.

Gift-bringers vary worldwide. In Italy, children await La Befana, who visits on Epiphany. In Spain and much of Latin America, the Three Wise Men bring presents on January 6. Across cultures, the act of giving reflects both the biblical story of the Magi and the universal value of generosity.

The celebration of Christmas takes many shapes depending on where you are:

Australia celebrates in summer, often with barbecues on the beach.

Italy hosts fish feasts on Christmas Eve, followed by midnight Mass.

The Philippines has Simbang Gabi, a series of nine dawn masses leading to Christmas Day—one of the world’s longest Christmas seasons.

Ethiopia celebrates on January 7 with traditional liturgies, processions, and feasts.

New York City glitters with lights and window displays, drawing visitors from around the globe.

In many places, Christmas time merges with New Year celebrations, extending the season of festivity well into January.

Christmas is rich with imagery that speaks to both faith and festivity:

Nativity scenes retell the story of Jesus’ birth.

Christmas lights, once candles, recall both warmth in winter and Christ as the “light of the world.”

The yule log, once burned for luck, now appears as a cake or decoration.

Mistletoe is famous for the custom of kissing underneath it—especially popular in Victorian England.

Snowmen capture the playful spirit of winter celebrations.

Christmas trees, often decorated with lights, ornaments, and a star or angel on top, symbolize life, hope, and joy during the darkest days of winter.

Each symbol carries meaning, but together they create the magical atmosphere people associate with the season.

Beyond its traditions and decorations, Christmas carries a message that transcends cultures and beliefs. For many Christians, it is the story of divine hope entering the world through the birth of Jesus, the “Prince of Peace.” For many others, it is a reminder of generosity, family, and community.

Whether you gather around a glowing tree, exchange cards and carols, or simply enjoy the quiet light of candles on a winter night, Christmas continues to inspire hope, joy, and goodwill—values worth carrying into every season of the year.