User:Icem4k/Work space2

Christmas Christmas Day
File:Nativity tree2011.jpg A depiction of the Nativity of Jesus with a Christmas tree backdrop
Also called	Noël, Nativity, Xmas, Yule
Observed by	Christians, many non-Christians
Type	Christian, cultural
Significance	Commemoration of the birth of Jesus
Celebrations	Gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decoration, feasting etc.
Observances	Church services
Date	December 25 Western Christianity and some Eastern churches; secular world January 7 [O.S. December 25] Some Eastern churches January 6 Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Evangelical Churches January 19 [O.S. January 6] Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Christmastide, Christmas Eve, Advent, Annunciation, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Nativity Fast, Nativity of Christ, Yule, St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day

Christmas or Christmas Day (Template:Lang-ang, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for 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;<ref name="Forbes">{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Bruce David|title=Christmas: A Candid History|date=October 1, 2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520258020|page=27|quote=In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities.