Even the timeline of our culture is divided by it. You would not know anything of Christ just by feeding on the aforementioned Christmas fare of our day. His story can only accurately be found in the Bible. And we find a synopsis of the true Christmas story in John Chapter One. Words are expressions of thoughts and ideas.
Words are revelations of one mind of to another.
The pre-existent Christ is the revelation to humankind of the thoughts and ideas of God Himself. He was an equal form and expression of God the Father. He was there in the beginning. When the heavens were framed, Christ was there. When the earth was made, Christ was there.