Christmas

Naivity scene depicted with Christmas lights on Earth

### Date

* December 25 (Gregorian Calendar; observed by Western Christianity and most of the world)
* January 7 (Julian Calendar; observed by Eastern Orthodox Christianity)

### Related to

* Christmas Eve
* Advent
* Holiday Season
* Epiphany
* Old Christmas
* Yule
* Hanukkah
* Kwanzaa

**Christmas**, is a an annual Terran festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration by many people on Earth, and most of the Terran Alliance. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in most countries on Earth, and the Terran Alliance, is celebrated by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season around it.

The traditional Christmas narrative, according to Terran history and theology, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then spread the word.

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas music and caroling; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; church services; a special meal; and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.

## Etymology

The English word "Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's Mass". The word is recorded as *Crīstesmæsse* in 1038 and *Cristes-messe* in 1131. The English word "Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's Mass". The word is recorded as *Crīstesmæsse* in 1038 and *Cristes-messe* in 1131; and *mæsse* is from Latin *missa*, the celebration of the Eucharist.

The form *Christenmas* was also used during some periods, but is now considered archaic and dialectal. The term derives from Middle English *Cristenmasse*, meaning "Christian mass". *Xmas* is an abbreviation of *Christmas* found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek *Khrīstos* (Χριστός) ("Christ"), although some style guides discourage its use.

## History

### Nativity and Pre-Christian Era

In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the gospels of Luke and Mathew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. After the local innkeeper was unable to provide them room, the two settle down in stable and Mary gave birth to a son. Laying him in a manger, angels came and proclaimed him a savior for all people, while shepherds came to adore him.

#### Northern Europe and Yule

However, centuries before Jesus was born, early Europeans were already celebrating light and birth in the darkest days of winter.

In Northern Europe and much of the Norse country, they had a celebration known as Yule. Around December 21, the winter solstice, fathers and sons would drag home the biggest log they could find, and set it on fire. The Yule log warmed, but it also brought hope, as each spark represented a lamb or cattle to be born in the spring. Also dragged in inside were evergreens, trees that could make it through the harsh Norse winter, as they represented that life can survive in the darkest days of winter.

For as long as the Yule log burned, roughly 12 days, feasting a reveille reigned supreme. In fact, this was one of the few times of the year, in which meat was abundant, since cattle had just been slaughtered for the long winter. Parties raged inside, in defiance of winter's deathly howl. In Germanic and Norse lands, the pagan god Odin struck fear into many people, as his nocturnal flame decided who lived, and who perished.

#### Ancient Rome, Saturnalia, and Mithra

In the Roman Empire and much of southern Europe, winter wasn't as harsh, but parting still reigned supreme. One week before the winter solstice, Romans began celebrating Saturnalia, a month long orgy of food and drink. Named after the Roman god Saturn, which meant plenty, Rome's established order was turned on its head. Some considered this celebration as way to break the statues-quo of Rome's social classes, such as having the slave be the master, and the master be the slave. One of the holiday's important feast was Juvenilia, to honor the children of Rome.

Among the upper classes of Rome, particularly soldiers and government officials, solstice celebrations were more sober. Many influential Romans worshipped Mithra, the Roman god of the unconquerable sun. To this small, but powerful spec, the birthday of Mithra, December 25, was the holiest day of the year.

#### The Date and New Holiday

While Romans were worshiping Mithra, a new religion was taking hold throughout the empire. At first, Christians didn't celebrate Christ's birth, his resurrection was the essential part of the new religion. But by the 4th century AD, the question of the holy birth was impossible to ignore.

For Christians, the fact of Jesus' birth was settled, but the date remained unknown. The Christian Bible doesn't say when Christ was born, but certain facts suggest it wasn't in December. But Rome was celebrating the birthday of Mithra on December 25th, it seemed natural to honor the birthday of Christ at the same time. By the 4th century AD, the church made it official: December 25th was declared the feast day of the Nativity.

### Medieval Europe and the Puritans

By the middle ages, Christianity had largely replaced Pagan traditions. With the Roman Catholics dominating in the west, and the Eastern Orthodox in the east. On December 25th, the faithful were called to many gothic cathedrals like Notre Dame, or Salisbury Cathedral, for Christ's Mass, soon to be known as Christmas.

But out in the streets, the holiday was more raucous, than religious. Many historians consider medieval Christmas more like New Years, Halloween, or even Mardi Gras. Houses were littered with drunken men, and couples engaging in the most unholiest of acts. Most of the peasantry also went out to receive gifts from their lords.

#### Rise of Puritan England and the Outlawed Holiday

But the rules of Christmas would soon change, as a wave of religious reform swept through Europe in the early 17th century. Protestant Christianity had begun to grow in most of Northern Europe. At the end of the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads overthrew King Charles I and his forces in 1645. Cromwell and the Roundheads were Puritans, who wished to purge England of all they deemed decadent. High on their list was English Christmas, and in 1652 they outlawed it altogether. Shops were ordered to remain opened, Churches were forced to stay closed.

While the Puritans may have have said good riddance to Christmas, but the people never really stopped celebrating. The holiday merely went underground; if Christmas pie was illegal, it began to be known as Mince pie, which was just a delicious. When King Charles II was declared king of England, Christmas was restored with him.

### American and English Reformation

After winning independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, all things deemed "English" fell out of place in America, Christmas included. In fact, on December 25, 1789, the United States Congress remained in session, an continued to stay open on Christmas Day for the next most of the next sixty-seven years. But ultimately, Christmas who bring the new country together, and reform the holiday as a whole.

#### Irving and Dickens' Visions

By the 1820s, America was a country popular for immigrants. The Industrial Revolution gave way to the rising middle-class, but also to the slumps of the unemployed, who threatened the cozy life of the middle and upper-classes. This was never more clear, than at Christmastime. In New York City, the upper-class and elite were so worried, that some set out to change how the holiday was celebrated. In 1819 Washington Irving, America's best-selling novelist, used his expertise to write: *Bracebridge Hall*, a series of stories about Christmas at a fictional English manor house. Here the classes mingled effortlessly, as squires welcome friendly and grateful peasants into their homes.

But in 1843, it was England's most popular writer, Charles Dickens, who tackled the Christmas problem with *A Christmas Carol*. It was a best-seller in both England and America, and the lessons of the story struck a powerful cord on both sides of the Atlantic. Christmas Carol showed most Victorians, Protestants, Upper and Middle-Classes what the holiday's meaning could be about. Many began to question "What do we owe to others? To our families? To our employees? To the poor?". By the mid-1800s, most American were rediscovering Christmas, after a 200-year long drought of Puritan disapproval.

Several old Pagan traditions were revived during this time, one of which was the Christmas Tree. It was around this time that Christmas Cards, mistletoe, holly, were poinsettias introduced.

### 20th Century

During the First World War, several informal truce were held between British and German troops on the western front in France and Belgium. The truces, which were organised spontaneously by fighting men, ranged from promises not to shoot shouted at a distance in order to ease the pressure of war for the day to friendly socializing, gift giving and even sport between enemies. These incidents became a well known and semi-mythologized part of popular memory, and are used to demonstrate the ideals of Christmas in modern day across the Terran Alliance.

#### Soviet and Nazi Censorship

By 1920, Russia, once home to the Russian Orthodox Church, was under the control of the Bolsheviks. The newly established Soviet Union, state atheism was established, outlawing all forms of religion. The During the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, the League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays. At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on crucifixes as a protest against the holiday. Despite the political suppression of the holiday, the same instance occurred as it once did in Puritan England; the holiday went underground, as many Russians quietly observed the holiday. I wouldn't be until 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, that the holiday was no longer persecuted.

During the reign of the Nazi Party in Germany under Adolf Hitler, holidays were persecuted, but no the the same extent as the USSR (where Atheism is their policy), many Germans continued worshipping Christianity under the guise of the so-called Positive Christianity, and to a larger extent; observe Christmas. Due to the holiday being so popular, the Nazis sought to "remove" the Christian aspects of it. Propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regime's racial ideologies.

#### Late 20th Century

On December 25, 1991, after the Galactic Republic's first contact with Earth, several Republic officials celebrated the holiday at White House with US President George HW Bush. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, whom had attended the celebration, compared the holiday to Life Day.

### Terran Reforms

Following the formation of the Terran Alliance, new laws were established that allowed the religious observance of most holidays, Christmas included. These included Muslim countries where Christians are the minorities or Communist states like China, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba where Religion is outlawed due to "secularism" under the guise of State Atheism, which allows Freedom of Religion, thanks to the Terran Jedi Order.

## Christmas in the Andromeda Galaxy

### Galactic Republic

In the Andromeda Galaxy, a similar holiday was celebrated and it was called Life Day. It was originally observed by the Wookiees on their homeworld of Kashyyyk. In December 1991, representatives from the Galactic Republic celebrated Christmas at White House with US President George HW Bush and his wife Barbara. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who attended the party, compared the holiday to that of Life Day. During the Clone Wars, Terran forces brought their cultures and customs to the Andromeda Galaxy, Christmas included.

### Galactic Empire

Following the end of the Clone Wars, the Empire attempted to wipe out any trace of Terran culture from the galaxy. Traditions such as Christmas were outlawed by the New Order as a result. In response, many citizen began to openly celebrate Life Day as an alternative, even celebrating it either December or January.

### New Republic

After the New Republic and Terran Alliance victory in the Galactic Civil War, Christmas was reintroduced to the galaxy. While it is unclear whether or not the New Republic made the holiday an official one, it can be assumed that worlds under Terran control such as Naboo and Christophsis adopted the holiday. Following the rise of the First Order, it is possible the new government revived the Empire's Anti-Terran laws, and outlawed Christmas once more.

## Observance and Traditions

Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries on Earth, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian, and most of the Terran Alliance. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (such as Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians while the majority of their people were practitioners of Shinto, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees.

Among countries with a strong Christian traditions, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures.

### Day of Observance

The Christian Church (later the Roman Catholic Church) proclaimed December 25 as the birth of Christ, the same day as the birth of Mithra according to the Julian calendar. However the majority of the modern world utilize the Gregorian Calendar, which is used for more secular purposes. As a result, December 25 on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian calendar used by the Terran Alliance and most countries on Earth. Most countries that celebrate Christmas on January 7 (of the Gregorian calendar) are mainly part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. These include Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Jerusalem, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro.

Most Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, and mainly western Christian church celebrate Christmas on December 25 (of the Gregorian calendar). This date is widely used by a majority of the world, both Christian and secular. Several countries, mainly with Islam as the official religion, outlaw the day of observance entirely, but thanks to the newly established laws under the Terran Accords presumably overruled these laws (including Sharia Law), allowing for observance.

### Church Attendance

Christmas Day, along with the previous day Christmas Eve, is a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, a holy day of obligation in the Roman Catholic Church, and a Principal Feast of the Anglican Communion. Other Christian denominations do not rank their feast days but nevertheless place importance on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, as with other Christian feasts like Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost. As such, for Christians, attending a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day church service plays an important part in the recognition of the Christmas season. Mormons do not hold a church service on Christmas day (unless the day falls on a Sunday), but have a Christmas-themed worship service the Sunday prior to Christmas, and will often hold Christmas parties and concerts during the week leading up to Christmas, preferring to spend Christmas at home with their families.

In the Philippines a Catholic-majority nation, they observe the Church attendance by the so-called Simbang Gabi or Night mass a devotional, nine-day series of Masses which attended by Filipino Catholics in anticipation of Christmas

### Decorations

#### Colors

The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion, while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter, and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.

#### Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer, Martin Bucer. The tree grew in popularity in the UK after Queen Victoria of Britain, married her cousin Prince Albert of Germany. In the 19th century, German immigrants brought the Christmas tree to the United States.

The Christmas tree was initially decorated with lit candles, and a star on top, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. Others supplemented the star for an angel, symbolizing that the angels mentioning the Nativity of Christ. The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianization of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship.

#### Flowers

Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem; in that country it is known in Spanish as the *Flower of the Holy Night*. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus; the latter being popular in the southwestern United States..

#### Other

Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display.

The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare Christians for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world.

Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places. It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night.

### Nativity Play

For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is one of the oldest Christmastime traditions, with the first reenactment of the Nativity of Jesus taking place in 1223 AD. St. Francis of Assisi assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in Italy and children sung Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Jesus. Each year, this grew larger and people travelled from afar to see Francis' depiction of the Nativity of Jesus that came to feature drama and music. Nativity plays eventually spread throughout all of Europe, where they remain popular. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services often came to feature Nativity plays, as did schools and theatres. In France, Germany, Mexico and Spain, Nativity plays are often reenacted outdoors in the streets.

### Music and Carols

The earliest extant specifically Christmas hymns appear in fourth-century Rome. Latin hymns such as "Veni redemptor gentium", written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. "Corde natus ex Parentis" ("Of the Father's love begotten") by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.

The songs now known specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie", "Good King Wenceslas", and "The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. "Adeste Fideles" (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.

The singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like Martin Luther, wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century. The 18th-century English reformer Charles Wesley understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the Great Awakening in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols. The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later renamed "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing".

Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck the Halls" dates from 1784, and the American "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th centuries, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An increasing number of seasonal holiday songs were commercially produced in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition, there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and classical music. John Rutter has composed many carols including "All Bells in Paradise", "Angels' Carol", "Candlelight Carol", "Donkey Carol", "Jesus Child", "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" and "Star Carol".

During the 19th Century in the United States, there was a significant adoption of Christmas traditions from German and other immigrants, as well as novels by of Charles Dickens, including *The Pickwick Papers* and *A Christmas Carol*. The practices included having Christmas parties, caroling door-to-door, sending Christmas cards, giving gifts, and decorating houses and trees. People displayed nativity scenes and crèches. There were several American Christmas carols composed during the 19th Century, including "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" in 1863, and "Away in a Manger" in 1885. This time period marked the start of the present-day tradition of American and British choral groups performing Handel's *Messiah* during Christmas, rather than during Easter.

The Christmas music in the U.S. was influenced by community and church music, as well as radio, television, and recordings. Radio has covered Christmas music from variety shows from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as modern-day stations that exclusively play Christmas music from late November through December 25. Hollywood movies have featured new Christmas music, such as "White Christmas" in *Holiday Inn* and *Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer*. Traditional carols have also been included in Hollywood films, such as "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in *It's a Wonderful Life* (1946), and "Silent Night" in *A Christmas Story*. American Christmas songs include religious carols and hymns, as well as secular songs featuring goodwill, Santa Claus, and gift-giving.

### Traditional Cuisine

A special Christmas family meal is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of the Christian feast day celebration, and form a significant part of gatherings held to celebrate the arrival of Christmastide. In many cases, there is a ritual element to the meal related to the religious celebration, such as the saying of grace. Across Earth, food that is served varies greatly from country to country.

#### Asia

##### India

Indian people cook a variety of foods, including biryani with chicken or mutton, chicken and mutton curry, followed by cake or sweets like kheer. Long established Christian communities such as Goan Catholics have pork dishes and beef dishes as part of their main course of their Christmas dinner. These include pork vindaloo and sorpatel. For dessert, a dish called bebinca is popular. The Kerala Christian community is the largest Christianity community in India. Keralites celebrate Christmas with midnight mass, Christmas carols and food. The Christmas celebration begins on Christmas Eve. Churches are decorated, Christmas trees and bigger Christmas stars from youth groups are the biggest attractions in Kerala. Pork Vindaloo, Beef Stew, and Mappas are the common dishes served during Christmas dinner. Keralites people go from home to home to celebrate and dance during carol time. All Keralites—including Hindus and Muslims—celebrate Christmas and share sweets and gifts and participate in carols and town celebrations. Plum cake is a famous dessert in Kerala and family come together and cut the cake after the midnight mass, the cutting of plum cakes after Christmas mass is treated as a tradition in Kerala. Occasionally, wines commonly made from grapes as well as pineapples, gooseberries or other fruit, are consumed.

##### Japan

Japanese Christmas cake, a white sponge cake covered with cream and decorated with strawberries, is often consumed, and Stollen cake, made locally, is widely available. A successful advertising campaign in the 1970s made eating at KFC around Christmas a national custom. Its chicken meals are so popular during the season that stores take reservations months in advance.

##### Lebanon

Lebanese Christians celebrate Christmas dinners. The feast, usually on the night of the 24th and lunch on the 25th, is a big one. The family gets together at both meals, and some have the leftovers from the dinner prior to the lunch the next day. The traditional offering for Christmas is sugar-coated almonds. Roast turkey is the most common choice of meal.

##### Philippines

Christmas dinner in the Philippines is called *Noche Buena* following Hispanic custom, and is held towards midnight of 24 December. This usually comes after the entire family has attended the late evening Mass called the *Misa de Gallo* ("Mass of the Rooster"). The centerpiece of the *Noche Buena* is often the *hamón*, which is usually a cured leg of pork. This is usually served with *queso de bola*, literally a ball of edam cheese covered in red wax. Other ubiquitous dishes are pasta and, for dessert, fruit salad. The dinner would usually be accompanied by *tsokolate* or hot cocoa, made with pure, locally grown cacao beans. Some families prefer *tsokolate* prepared from *tablea* or pressed cocoa powder tablets that are either pure or slightly sweetened. Most of the foods served on Noche Buena are fresh and usually prepared the day of Christmas Eve.

#### Europe

##### Austria

In Austria, Christmas Eve is the celebration of the end of the pre-Christmas fast. Christmas is usually celebrated only by Christians. Christmas Eve is historically the day that the tree is decorated and lit with real candles, so that the Christkindl may visit. Christmas Day is a national holiday in Austria and most Austrians spend the day feasting with their family. Fried carp, Sachertorte, and Christmas biscuits (Lebkuchen and Weihnachtssterne) are eaten, as are many other chocolate delicacies including edible Christmas ornaments. Christmas dinner is usually goose, ham served with Gluhwein, Rumpunsch, and chocolate mousse.

##### Czech Republic

A traditional Christmas meal in the Czech Republic is fried carp and potato salad which are eaten during Christmas dinner on the evening of 24 December. It is often accompanied by a fish soup prepared from carp leftovers (head or bones) or a traditional Czech mushroom dish Kuba. Many households also prepare a great variety of unique Christmas biscuits to offer to visitors. These are prepared many days before the feast and take a long time to decorate. It is also common to hang for children wrapped chocolate sweets on the Christmas tree as decoration.

##### Denmark

In Denmark, the traditional Christmas meal served on 24 December consists, according to one representative study, of duck (66% of households surveyed), roast pork with crackling (43%), turkey (8%), or goose (7%). The figures total more than 100% because it was found that some families prepare more than one kind of meat for Christmas dinner. The meat is served with boiled potatoes (some of which are caramelized, some roasted), red cabbage, and gravy. The main course is followed by a dessert of Risalamande, rice pudding served with cherry sauce or strawberry sauce, often with a whole almond hidden inside. The lucky finder of the almond is entitled to an extra present, the almond gift. Christmas drinks are Gløgg (mulled wine) and traditional Christmas beers, specially brewed for the season and which usually have a high alcohol content.

##### Finland

*Joulupöytä* (translated "Christmas table") is the name of the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland, similar to the Swedish *smörgåsbord*. It contains many different dishes, most of them typical for the season. The main dish is usually a large Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread along with the other dishes. Fish is also served (often *lutefisk* and *gravlax* or smoked salmon), and with the ham there are also different casseroles usually with potatoes, rutabaga (swedes), or carrots. The traditional Christmas beverage is mulled wine (*glögi* in Finnish), which may be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

##### Germany

In Germany, the primary Christmas dishes are roast goose and roast carp, although suckling pig, duck, or venison may also be served. Typical side dishes include roast potatoes and various forms of cabbage such as kale, Brussels sprouts, and red cabbage. In some regions, the Christmas dinner is traditionally served on Christmas Day rather than Christmas Eve. In this case, dinner on Christmas Eve is a simpler affair, consisting of sausages (such as Bockwurst or Wiener) and potato salad. Sweets and Christmas pastries are all but obligatory and include marzipan, gingerbread (*Lebkuchen*), several types of bread, and various fruitcakes and fruited loaves of bread such as *Christstollen* and Dresdener Stollen.

##### Italy

In Italy the Christmas Eve meal is usually called *cenone* (literally 'big dinner'). The culinary tradition is polarized between Northern and Southern Italy.

The *primo piatto* is usually a soup of stuffed pasta (such as tortellini) served in meat or capon broth. The *secondo piatto* differs more between the two areas. In the north, people usually eat chicken (roast or boiled) with different sauces. In the south, the traditional dish is *capitone fritto* (fried European eel).

##### Portugal

Traditionally in Portugal the family gets together around the table on Christmas Eve to eat boiled dried-salted cod accompanied with boiled cabbage or greens varying with what they have in the garden leftover, boiled potatoes, boiled onions, boiled eggs, and chickpeas. Sometimes a simple dressing is made with onions, garlic, or parsley. This meal is accompanied by generous amounts of olive oil.

##### Spain

In Spanish, Christmas Eve is called "Nochebuena," literally translated as "Good Night." In Spain, it is celebrated with a large family feast, which is eaten late in the evening and can last a couple of hours; some families attend midnight mass before or after the meal. In Spain, Christmas Eve is a time for celebrating in neighbourhood bars and cafes and around the table with family and friends. It is a time for gift exchanges or Santa Claus. However, it is mainly performed on Epiphany, which occurs on 6 January.

In medieval Catalan cuisine poultry was served for Christmas dinner, and other dishes with *salsa de pago* were followed by a course of lamb and bacon stew. The last course was *formatge torrador* (similar to *provoleta* in modern Argentinian cuisine), neula and *clarea* (also called "white sangria", similar to hippocras).

##### United Kingdom

Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom usually consists of roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, redcurrant jelly, roast potatoes; vegetables (particularly Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots and parsnips) with dessert of Christmas pudding, mince pies (both served with brandy butter, custard or cream) or trifle. It is estimated that nine million turkeys are consumed at Christmas in the United Kingdom.

In England throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, goose or capon was commonly served, and the rich sometimes dined upon peacock and swan. The turkey appeared on Christmas tables in England in the 16th century, and rapidly spread across the country in the 17th century. Goose continued to be served commonly up until the Victorian era. The pudding course of a British Christmas dinner may often be Christmas pudding, which dates from medieval England. Trifle, mince pies, Christmas cake or a yule log are also popular.

#### North America

##### Canada

In English-speaking Canada, Christmas dinner is similar to that of Britain. Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert. Eggnog, a milk-based punch often infused with alcohol, is also popular around the holiday season. Other Christmas items include Christmas cookies, butter tarts, and shortbread, which are traditionally baked before the holidays and served to visiting friends at Christmas and New Year parties, as well as on Christmas Day.

In French-speaking Canada, traditions may be more like those of France. Other ethnic communities may continue to use old-world traditions as well.

##### United States

Christmas traditions in the United States have eclectic origins, with predominant ones from the United Kingdom in most states. However, many others traditions are also celebrated, due to many years of influence from Europe (Spain, Scandinavia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, etc.) as well as more recent influences from people of Latin American origin in states such as Florida, and from the Caribbean. Therefore, the substrate of the meal usually is British in origin: roasted root vegetables as a side dish, mashed potatoes, gravy, and the centerpiece being a stuffed roasted fowl (pheasant, goose, duck, or turkey) or an expensive cut of roasted beef or beef Wellington. In the South, an area that has a very high concentration of people of UK extraction from centuries past, Christmas is the time of year in which many variations on a country ham or Christmas ham get served. Cookies of many kinds have been present in America for hundreds of years and often are either chocolate chip, gingerbread, snickerdoodles, or sugar cookies baked throughout December and fashioned into many shapes and figures.

West of the Mississippi, Mexicans have had a great influence over the way the meal is prepared, including roasting corn in its husk and serving biscochitos. Further regional meals offer diversity. Virginia has oysters, ham pie, and fluffy biscuits, a nod to its English 17th-century founders. The Upper Midwest includes dishes from predominantly Scandinavian backgrounds such as lutefisk and mashed rutabaga or turnip. In the southern US, rice is often served instead of potatoes, and on the Gulf Coast, shrimp and other seafood are usual appetizers, and Charlotte Russe chilled in a bed of Lady Fingers (called just Charlotte) is a traditional dessert, along with pumpkin and pecan pies. In some rural areas, game meats like elk or quail may grace the table, often prepared with old recipes: similar foodstuffs likely graced the tables of early American settlers on their first Christmases.

## The Holiday Season

On Earth, mainly Western countries, Christians and non-Christians, Christmas serves as the center for the **Holiday season** (also called the **Festive season**, or simply **the Holidays**). The holiday season incorporates most of the religious and secular traditions of the period, with Christmas at the center. This period mainly runs of late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies when trees decorated with ornaments and light bulbs are illuminated are traditions in many areas.

## General Information

### Also Called

* Christmas Season
* Christmastime
* Holiday season
* The Holidays
* Yuletide

### Observed by

* Christians
* Jews
* Non-Religious

### Celebrations

* Thanksgiving (United States)
* Advent
* Hanukkah
* Christmas Eve
* Christmas Day
* Boxing Day
* Kwanzaa
* New Years Eve
* New Years Day
* Epiphany

### Frequency

Annual

In Western Christianity, the Christmas season is synonymous with Christmastide, which runs from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve), popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas, or in the Catholic Church, until the Baptism of the Lord, a Christmas season which can last for more or fewer than twelve days.