Christmas is celebrated worldwide on December 25th in over 90 countries, with major festivities in North America, Europe, South America, and parts of Asia and Africa. It is primarily a Christian holiday marking Jesus's birth, though it is widely observed culturally with traditions like gift-giving, trees, and feasts.
Do most countries celebrate Christmas on 24 or 25?
Péter DrJoó Christmas day is on 25th everywhere. But in old Cristian tradition a day starts and ends when the sun goes down - that's why in many Countries the Christmas-celebrations are still in the evening of 24th.
Christmas originated from early Christian celebrations of Jesus' birth, formally set on December 25th in Rome in 336 AD, but it absorbed and adapted many pagan winter solstice festivals like the Roman Saturnalia and the cult of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun). These Roman traditions involved feasting, gift-giving, and honoring light, which the emerging Christian holiday merged with, eventually spreading these customs, like decorated trees from Germanic traditions, across Europe and the world.
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 by many Christians, particularly in the West. In the 3rd century the Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus' conception to March 25 (the Annunciation), which, after nine months in his mother's womb, would result in a December 25 birth.
Christmas Day in Australia. In some cultures, it is more common to celebrate Christmas Eve, but in Australia, 25 December - Christmas Day - is the biggest event of the season. Generally, the day involves parties during the day with lots of food and gifts shared.
Muslims don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday but we absolutely honor the story at the heart of it. In fact, Mariam or Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most honored women in Islam. An entire chapter of the Quran is named after her.
Japan celebrates Christmas as a secular, commercial, and romantic holiday, not a religious one, focusing on couples' dates, dazzling illuminations, and unique traditions like eating KFC fried chicken and strawberry shortcake, with Christmas Eve being a major romantic event and Christmas Day reserved for family New Year's celebrations instead.
Norway. Norway tops the list as the European country with the most Christmas spirit. The Christmas season here is characterized by cold mornings, crystal clear landscapes, reindeer, lots of snow and cookies. The main Christmas celebration takes place on December 24th and is known as Julaften.
In China, about 6% of people are Christians, so most people only know a few things about Christmas. Because of this, Christmas is only often celebrated in major cities. In these big cities there are Christmas Trees, lights and other decorations on the streets and in department stores.
Goa is often called the “Christmas Capital of India” for its vibrant mix of beach parties and devout traditions. By day, you can attend serene midnight mass at centuries-old churches (the Portuguese heritage here means beautiful cathedrals like Basilica of Bom Jesus are adorned with lights and nativity scenes).
Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macau), the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, ...
Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.
Saint Nicholas, who is known worldwide as Santa Claus, was born in the ancient Lycian city of Patara, an important city on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye. Around 300 AD, during a prosperous era for Patara, a rich wheat merchant had a son and named him Nicholas.
In fact, the Christian celebration of Christmas was invented by Romans as a way to co-opt and tame the raucous pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which was itself essentially a celebration of the days getting longer after the winter solstice.
Saint Nicholas was a 4th Century Greek Bishop who wore red and white robes and gave gifts to the poor, especially children. After his death, the legend of him continued and he is still celebrated in some countries on December 6th, known as St. Nicholas Day.
Whether Muslims can say "Merry Christmas" is debated, with some scholars allowing it as a general greeting of goodwill (especially in secular contexts) as long as it doesn't affirm Christian beliefs about Jesus' divinity, while others advise avoiding it to prevent endorsing a religious festival contrary to Islamic tenets, suggesting neutral phrases like "Happy Holidays" instead. The core issue is balancing kindness and social harmony with core Islamic beliefs, particularly the strict monotheism (Tawhid) that rejects Jesus as God's son, which Christmas celebrates.
He says it's common for families to have a family meal, and in order to avoid accusations that this is a Christmas celebration, they might avoid cooking a roast. A smaller number might decorate their homes. They may send cards of “Season's Greetings” and offer gifts to their neighbours and colleagues.
Instead of gathering around a decorated tree or singing carols about peace on Earth during December, Muslims observe significant holidays like Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha throughout the year—celebrations tied to important religious milestones such as Ramadan's conclusion and Hajj's culmination respectively.
Although of course Christmas was not a traditional celebration, many Aboriginal people now celebrate either the Christian or non-Christian aspects of Christmas. Please browse this page to see downloadable resources in Gamilaraay (GR), Yuwaalaraay (YR) and Yuwaalayaay (YR) - or all three (GYY).
“Christmas comes but once a year” ties the saying. But several countries celebrate Christmas twice. Ukraine, which recognised December 25th as an official holiday in 2017, joined Belarus, Eritrea, Lebanon, and Moldova as the fifth country celebrating two Christmases.
The song, popular with school-aged kids, explains that Santa's reindeer get a rest while six white boomers (boomer is Aussie slang for a male kangaroo) lead Santa's sleigh through Australia! After all the toys are delivered, they even help a little joey (a baby kangaroo) find his mommy.
