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Christmas
[[File:8452 - Milano - S. Marco - Londonio - Presepe (ca 1750) - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 14-Apr-2007.jpg|thumb|300px|''The Adoration of the Shepherds'' from a crib made of painted board by Francesco Landonio, 1750, Italy]]

'''Christmas''' (which means "[[Jesus|Christ]]'s [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=996|title=History of the Name “Christmas”|website=Celebrating Holidays|language=en-US|accessdate=2017-11-25}}</ref>) is a [[holiday]] that is celebrated on December 25. It is a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. [[Christianity|Christians]] celebrate Christmas Day as the birthday of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating [[Christmas tree|Christmas trees]], attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for [[Santa Claus]] to arrive. Christmas Day has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.
Relation to concurrent celebrations. Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity.

==  History ==

=== Winter celebrations ===
The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

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{{Commons|Christmas}}
* {{dmoz|Society/Holidays/Christmas/|Christmas}}
* {{en icon}} {{fr icon}} & ([[Occitan language|Occitan]]) [http://mtcn.free.fr/mtcn-traditional-music-midi-christmas-carol.php Traditional Christmas carols from County of Nice, France]
* [http://mytrendexpert.com/2016/10/07/hottest-2016-christmas-toys/ Christmas & Ideas For Your Children]{{U.S. Holidays}}


[[Category:Christmas]]