We celebrate Christmas on 25 December because it is the Christian festival marking the birth of Jesus. The Bible gives no date, and the 25th first appears in a Roman record from 354. Most of the traditions came much later and from different places: trees from Germany in the 1500s, cards from London in 1843, and Santa Claus from a real bishop, Saint Nicholas, who lived in the 300s.
Christmas quick facts
- Christmas is the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus, though many non-Christians celebrate it as a family holiday too.
- The Bible gives no date for the birth. The 25 December date first appears in a Roman document of 354.
- Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas, a real bishop in Myra, in what is now Turkey, in the 300s.
- Coca-Cola did not invent the red Santa suit. Thomas Nast drew it in 1881, fifty years before Coca-Cola’s adverts.
- Christmas was abolished by Parliament in England in 1647 and only restored in 1660.
Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus, held on 25 December. That is the short answer, and it is the reason the day exists at all.
The longer answer is more interesting, because almost everything else attached to Christmas, the tree, the cards, the man in the red suit, the pudding, arrived centuries later and from all over the place. Today millions of people who are not Christian celebrate it too, as a family holiday in the middle of winter.
The story behind the day
Christians believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, laid in a manger because there was no room for them anywhere else. The Gospels describe shepherds coming to visit after being told by angels, and wise men following a star, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh.
You can read the story of the first Christmas in full elsewhere. Two details are worth knowing that most retellings skip:
- The Bible never says how many wise men there were. Three gifts are listed, so people assumed three visitors.
- The Bible gives no date, no year and no season for the birth. Not one word about December.
So why 25 December?
This is where most children’s pages give you a confident answer that historians are actually still arguing about, so here is what is genuinely known.
The earliest surviving record of Christians marking Jesus’s birth on 25 December is a Roman document called the Chronograph of 354, which refers back to the year 336. Before that, different Christian communities marked it on different dates, and some did not mark it at all.
The popular explanation
You will very often read that Christians picked 25 December to take over a Roman festival, either Saturnalia or the feast of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun.
Many historians now think this is shaky. Saturnalia ran from 17 to 23 December, so it did not fall on the 25th at all. And the idea that Christmas copied Sol Invictus comes largely from a 19th-century scholar named Hermann Usener; there is no clear evidence that the Roman festival came first.
The other explanation
Some early Christians believed that Jesus was conceived on 25 March, the same date they gave for his death, because they liked the idea of a life beginning and ending on the same day of the year. Count nine months forward from 25 March and you land on 25 December.
Nobody can prove which explanation is right, and it may be some of both. If a website tells you flatly that Christmas is just Saturnalia with a new name, it is more confident than the evidence allows.
It is also worth knowing that not everyone celebrates on the 25th: many Orthodox Christians use an older calendar and hold Christmas on 7 January, which is the same day counted a different way.
Where the Christmas tree came from
Bringing evergreen branches indoors in midwinter is a very old idea, and a sensible one: when everything outside is bare and dead, a plant that stays green is a good thing to look at.
The decorated indoor tree as we know it took shape in Germany in the 1500s. It reached Britain properly in 1848, when the Illustrated London News printed a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was German, standing with their children around a decorated tree. Within a few years everyone who could afford one wanted one. It was a royal photograph going viral, three hundred years before the internet.
History.com has more on the history of Christmas trees, including the tallest ever recorded.
Father Christmas, Santa Claus and a real person
Santa Claus began with somebody who actually lived. Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop in Myra, in what is now Turkey, in the 300s. Stories say he gave away his wealth in secret, dropping bags of gold through windows at night to help families who could not afford dowries for their daughters.
His feast day is 6 December. In the Netherlands he became Sinterklaas, and Dutch settlers carried the name to America, where English speakers turned it into Santa Claus. In Britain he merged with an older figure called Father Christmas, who originally represented feasting and good cheer rather than presents.
Coca-Cola did not invent the red suit
This is one of the most repeated Christmas myths on the internet, and it is wrong.
The cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a plump, white-bearded Santa in a red suit in 1881, and red-suited Santas appear in other artwork before that. Coca-Cola’s famous adverts, painted by Haddon Sundblom, began in 1931, fifty years later.
Coca-Cola made that image enormously popular and fixed it in people’s minds worldwide. But it did not invent it, and the company has said as much itself.
Where the other traditions came from
| Tradition | Where it started |
|---|---|
| Christmas cards | London, 1843. Sir Henry Cole was too busy to write letters to everyone, so he had a card printed. About 1,000 were made. |
| Crackers | London, 1840s. A sweet-maker, Tom Smith, wrapped sweets in twists of paper and later added the bang. |
| Carols | Originally dance songs, sung all year. They were pushed out of churches for centuries and sung in the streets instead. |
| Stockings | Linked to the Saint Nicholas story: gold thrown through a window is said to have landed in stockings drying by the fire. |
| Advent calendars | Germany, 1800s. The first printed ones appeared in the early 1900s, and chocolate came much later still. |
| Boxing Day | Britain. The day servants and tradespeople received a Christmas box of money or leftovers, having worked on the 25th. |
Christmas around the world
Christmas looks very different depending on where you are, and the differences are half the fun.
- Australia — midsummer. Christmas dinner often happens on a beach or as a barbecue.
- Iceland — thirteen Yule Lads visit over thirteen nights, leaving small gifts, or a rotten potato if you have misbehaved.
- Japan — a huge number of families eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve, thanks to an advertising campaign that began in 1974.
- Mexico — Las Posadas, nine nights of processions re-enacting Mary and Joseph looking for somewhere to stay.
- Ukraine — trees are sometimes decorated with a spider and web, from a folk tale about a poor family whose bare tree was decorated overnight by spiders.
- Norway — some families still hide their brooms on Christmas Eve, from an old story about witches stealing them.
- Ethiopia — Genna is celebrated on 7 January, with a dawn church service and white clothing.
Two true stories worth knowing
Christmas was once illegal in England
In 1647, Parliament abolished Christmas. The Puritans then in power thought the festival had no basis in the Bible and had become an excuse for drinking and disorder. Shops were ordered to open, church services were banned, and soldiers were sent to take down decorations.
People rioted about it in Canterbury and elsewhere. Christmas only came back legally in 1660, when the monarchy was restored.
The Christmas Truce of 1914
On Christmas Eve 1914, in the first winter of the First World War, soldiers on parts of the Western Front stopped fighting. German troops sang carols; British troops sang back. In places men climbed out of the trenches, met in the open ground between the lines, shook hands, swapped food and buttons, and buried their dead.
In a few places they played football. The truce was never officially agreed, it did not happen along the whole front, and commanders made certain it never happened again, but it did happen, and letters home from the men who were there describe it plainly.
Things to do at Christmas
- Make paper chains or salt-dough decorations for the tree.
- Write a Christmas card for someone who will not get many.
- Learn one carol properly, including the verses nobody remembers.
- Find out how Christmas is celebrated in a country you have never visited.
- Ask a grandparent what Christmas was like when they were your age. The answers are usually surprising.
Christmas myths
- “Coca-Cola invented the red Santa.” Thomas Nast drew him in red in 1881; Coca-Cola’s adverts began in 1931.
- “There were three wise men.” The Bible lists three gifts but never says how many visitors.
- “The Bible says Jesus was born on 25 December.” It gives no date at all.
- “Christmas is just Saturnalia renamed.” Saturnalia ran 17–23 December, and many historians now doubt the connection.
- “Jesus was born in the year 0.” There is no year 0 in our calendar, and most historians place his birth a few years earlier than year 1.
- “Xmas is disrespectful.” The X stands for Chi, the first letter of Christ in Greek. Christians have used it as shorthand for centuries.
For more, see our Christmas Facts for Kids, or read about another winter festival in Halloween Facts for Kids.
Common questions
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Because it is the Christian festival marking the birth of Jesus. Many people who are not Christian also celebrate it as a family holiday in midwinter.
Why is Christmas on 25 December?
Nobody is certain, and historians still disagree. The date first appears in a Roman document of 354. One theory says it replaced a Roman festival, while another says early Christians counted nine months forward from 25 March, the date they gave for Jesus’s conception.
Who was the real Santa Claus?
Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop in Myra, in modern Turkey, during the 300s. He was known for giving gifts in secret. His Dutch name, Sinterklaas, became Santa Claus in America.
When did people start putting up Christmas trees?
Decorated indoor trees began in Germany in the 1500s. They became popular in Britain after 1848, when a newspaper printed a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with theirs.
Was Christmas ever banned?
Yes. Parliament abolished Christmas in England in 1647 under the Puritans. It was restored in 1660.
Did you know? On Christmas Eve 1914, soldiers on parts of the Western Front stopped fighting, climbed out of the trenches, shook hands and swapped food. Some played football. Commanders made sure it never happened again.
Try it
Ask a grandparent or older relative what Christmas was like when they were your age: what they ate, what presents they got, what was on television. Write down three things that surprised you.
Knowledge check
Did Coca-Cola invent Santa’s red suit?
Show answer
No. The cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a red-suited Santa in 1881, and red Santas appear even earlier. Coca-Cola’s adverts began in 1931 and made the image famous worldwide, but did not create it.
Does the Bible say Jesus was born on 25 December?
Show answer
No. The Bible gives no date, year or season for the birth. The 25 December date first appears in a Roman document from the year 354, and historians still debate how it was chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Christmas is the Christian festival marking the birth of Jesus, which is why the day exists at all. Today millions of people who are not Christian also celebrate it as a family holiday in the middle of winter.
Why is Christmas on 25 December?
Nobody is certain. The Bible gives no date, no year and no season for the birth. The 25 December date first appears in a Roman document written in 354, and historians still argue about how it was chosen. Anyone who gives you a single confident answer is skipping the argument.
Where did Santa Claus come from?
From Saint Nicholas, a real bishop who lived in Myra, in what is now Turkey, in the 300s. He had a reputation for giving gifts in secret. His name passed through Dutch as Sinterklaas and became Santa Claus in English.
Did Coca-Cola invent the red Santa suit?
No. The cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa in a red suit in 1881, about fifty years before Coca-Cola’s adverts. Coca-Cola made the image far more famous, but it did not create it.
How many wise men were there?
The Bible never says. It lists three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, so people assumed three visitors. The number of wise men is not in the text at all.
Was Christmas ever banned?
Yes. The English Parliament abolished Christmas in 1647, and it was only restored in 1660. Celebrating it during those years could get you in trouble with the authorities.
Sources
- whychristmas.com: the Christmas story — the nativity account and traditions worldwide.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: how December 25 became Christmas — the scholarly debate over the date.
- History.com: history of Christmas trees — the German origin and Victorian spread of the tree.
- Snopes: did Coca-Cola invent the modern Santa? — the Thomas Nast and Haddon Sundblom timeline.
- Imperial War Museums: the real story of the Christmas Truce — first-hand accounts from 1914.
