\If you live in the United States, chances are you either celebrate or are very familiar with Christmas, the most popular holiday celebrated in the holiday season that begins in late November and ends after the New Year begins. Celebrated on December 25th, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day is generally not thought of as the exact date of Jesus’ birth, but rather a blending of celebrations such as the pagan celebration of the birthday of Mithra as well as the Roman feast of the Saturnalia, both of which have lent elements to the modern-day celebration of Christmas. The most popular and widespread acknowledgements of the holiday include the process of giving and receiving gifts, the incorporation of church observances into the day, and the display of various traditional decorations, such as Christmas lights and the Christmas tree, among other customary displays. Many myths have become associated with Christmas as well, such as the idea of Santa Claus. The gift-giving aspect of Christmas, too, has become a vital part of the retail sector of the economy, as retailers do much of their business during the holiday season.

The term “Christmas” comes from the compounded form of the term “Christ’s Mass”, derived from a Middle English interpretation of Ancient Greek words. Originally, many festivals took place around Christmastime in many cultures because of the coincidence of the winter solstice. Since the winter solstice marked the beginning of longer days and shorter nights, ancient people needed to do less agricultural work, and because of this, many cultures held festivals and celebrations to ring in an easier time. From these celebrations, several modern elements of Christmas evolved, including the process of giving and receiving gifts, the idea of merrymaking, the concept of lights and charity from the celebration of the Roman New Year, and certain traditional foods from Teutonic feasts enjoyed around this time. Pagan Scandinavia partook in a festival called Yule during this time period, heavily influencing the later Christian practices of Christmas.

Around the end of the 4th Century AD, Christians started to reclaim December 25th as a Christian holiday, removing the pagan connotations. To celebrate the nativity, Christians, as early as almost 1,700 years ago, feasted and held gatherings. The feast would briefly disappear, but was reintroduced in the early 5th century and has yet to leave. Also around this time, the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are the days from December 25th to the Epiphany, January 6th, began to be celebrated on their own merits, with special feasts and observations throughout the period of time. Throughout much of the Middle Ages, Christmas Day was not as important a holiday as the Epiphany, where the visit of the magi was viewed as a more important concept than the birth of Jesus himself. The rest of the calendar during that time period, though, had many celebrations and observances dedicated to Christmas, such as the Forty Days of St. Martin, the forty days leading up to Christmas.

By the end of the Middle Ages, though, Christmas had become so important that many historians scribed exactly where those in positions of power spent their Christmas Day. Christmas feasts rose immensely in popularity, such as the notorious feast of King Richard II in 1377 where he and his court at twenty-eight oxen and over 300 sheep. Still, though, gifts were not exchanged until New Year’s Day. This would change in the 19th century when Christmas underwent certain Protestant reformations. Colonial America saw the Puritans disapprove of Christmas, but as their influence began to wane, celebrations of Christmas began to rise in popularity. One of the reasons that we have many of our Christmas traditions today is because of the writing of several important figures throughout the 19th century, such as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and several short stories written by Washington Irving. Although many believe that Irving made up the traditions he portrayed in his stories as facts, many American readers began to emulate his traditions, setting the stage for Christmas as we know it today.

Modern Christmas celebrations often begin with the process of decorating the house in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Most houses that celebrate Christmas opt to display a Christmas tree, a fir tree that is covered in lights and Christmas ornaments as the family sees fit. Although it is a symbol of Christmas itself, the tree is also the location that most families place the gifts that everyone in the family has received for Christmas. Families with children commonly have the parents place the presents under the tree on the night before Christmas as the children sleep, and when the children wake up and see all of the presents, they are told that the mysterious Santa Claus came in through the fireplace and left the presents for the children. Then, the gifts are distributed to each member of the family and opened. The image of Santa Claus dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when German-American Thomas Nast is credited with having created the modern image of Santa Claus as the bearer of gifts.

Decoration is a very important part of the Christmas season. The Christmas tree itself is a form of decoration, a tradition that is often described as a Christianization of a pagan tradition. Pagan rituals surrounding the winter solstice often included the use of evergreen boughs to symbolize the common aspect of pagan tree worship. The phrase “Christmas tree” was first recorded in 1835, and since then, the Christmas tree has become a decorative fixture in both homes and in public spaces. German immigrants are credited with having introduced the tradition into the United States around the same time that the English language phrase was coined. The trees are usually decorated with lights and ornaments. It is also customary in many parts of the world for the outside of each house to be decorated, usually with lights. Other sorts of decorations include illuminated sleighs, snowmen, reindeer, and other Christmas figures. Cities often sponsor Christmas decorations, with Christmas trees displayed in public locations and banners hung on office buildings.

The holiday season has created an entire subset of music that is referred to as Christmas music, and musicians are constantly reinventing old Christmas favorites, while the standards as sung decades ago also remain popular. Christmas foods are very popular throughout the holiday season, ranging from seasonal favorites like eggnog and gingerbread cookies to the food that is traditionally served at the Christmas feast, like turkey and ham. The holiday season is also a time that encouraged charity and goodwill. Charitable organizations like the Salvation Army often establish their largest donation drives during the Christmas season because much of the experience of Christmas revolves around helping those that are less fortunate. Christmas is also responsible for the largest economic stimulus throughout the year. The huge amount of retail activity that results from purchasing gifts for friends and family allows many stores to head into the next year with plenty of profit. All in all, the Christmas season is often a favorite time of year for many people throughout the United States and the rest of the world because it is a time to appreciate the positives in life.