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Christmas around the world

When: Every year on December 25 (and January 7 in some churches)

At Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. Families keep it in many different ways, with lanterns, trees, nativity scenes, midnight Masses, special foods and songs. The story at the centre is the same everywhere: God came near as a child.

Where it came from

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, but they do not give the date. The earliest list we have that names December 25 as the day of Christ's birth is a Roman calendar from the year 354. In the East, the birth of Jesus was long kept together with his baptism on January 6, the Epiphany.

Why December 25? Historians disagree. One idea is that early Christians counted nine months from March 25, the date they believed Jesus was conceived. Another is that the date was chosen near a Roman festival of the sun. Neither idea is proven, and both may have played some part.

Many customs were added over the centuries: the nativity scene, which Francis of Assisi made popular in 1223; carols; the Christmas tree, which is known in Germany from the 1500s; and gift-giving, linked to the gifts of the wise men and to St Nicholas.

How it is kept around the world

Christians differ

Most Christians celebrate Christmas, but not on the same day. Catholic and Protestant churches, and some Orthodox churches, keep it on December 25. Russian, Serbian, Ethiopian and other Orthodox churches that follow the older Julian calendar keep it on January 7. Armenian Apostolic Christians keep Christ's birth with the Epiphany in January.

Some Christians do not celebrate Christmas because the Bible does not give a date or command it. In the 1600s some Puritans in England and New England banned it. Others celebrate it with joy and see all the customs as ways to say thank you.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2
  • Look at a nativity scene with soft figures. Name “baby”, “mama”, “star”.
  • Sing “Away in a Manger” or any quiet song at bedtime.
Ages 3 to 5
  • Act out the Christmas story with toys or dress-up, and say a line of the story.
  • Make a star ornament and hang it on a branch or window.
Ages 6 to 8
  • Choose a country from this page and make one of its customs: a paper lantern, a straw ornament or a star cookie.
  • Read Luke 2:1–20 aloud, taking parts.
Ages 9 to 12
  • Choose three countries and compare how they celebrate. What is the same and what is different?
  • Interview a relative about a childhood Christmas and write down one tradition.
Ages 13 to 17
  • Read Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 side by side. What does each tell, and what does each leave out?
  • Pick one thing you can give this Christmas that is not bought.

A short prayer

Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to be with us. Bless our families and everyone far from home this Christmas. Amen.

Where this comes from
  • Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, and Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1 and 2
  • Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Origins of Feasts, Fasts and Seasons in Early Christianity (Liturgical Press, 2011)
  • Susan K. Roll, Toward the Origins of Christmas (Kok Pharos, 1995)
  • Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun (Oxford University Press, 1996), on midwinter customs

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.