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Christmas trees and a nativity scene.

Christmas or Christmas Day or "x-mas day" is a holiday observed mostly on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birthday of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, the date of the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.

Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) is a popular folklore figure in many countries, associated with the bringing of gifts for children.

-2677 days, -9 hours, -32 minutes, -20 seconds until Christmas 2016

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply "Santa", is the legendary and mythical figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24 or on his Feast Day, December 6 (Saint Nicholas Day). The legend may have part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas. While Saint Nicholas was originally portrayed wearing bishop's robes, in modern times, Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, his depiction is often identical to the American Santa, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.

"Silent Night", Length: 2 minutes 11 seconds

"Silent Night" (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber.

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• ... that the 2002 album Happy Clucking Holidays consists of Christmas songs performed by Dirk Keysser clucking like a chicken?
• ... that Paul Lynde, who played the lead role in the 1977 U.S. television special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, was responsible for casting fellow actor Martha Raye as his character's mother-in-law?
• ... that the computer game "Attack of the Mutant Artificial Christmas Trees" invites players to stop mutant fake trees from sucking the spirit out of Christmas?

The use of decorative, festive Christmas lights during the Christmas holiday season is a long standing tradition in many Christian cultures, and has been adopted as a secular practice in a number of other non-Christian, or non-predominantly Christian, cultures (notably in Japan).

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Baby Jesus theft • Christmas in the post-War United States • Nativity scene • The Nightmare Before Christmas • "A Benihana Christmas" • Christmas tree cultivation • "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"Template:/box-footer

Main – Christmas Eve · Christmas Day · Boxing Day · History · The Nativity · Bringers of gifts · Decorations · Economics · Customs

Christianity – Nativity of Jesus · Nativity of Jesus in art · Nativity scene · Nativity of Jesus in later culture · Jesus Christ · Mary · Joseph · Angel Gabriel · Adoration of the Shepherds · Three Wise Men · Star of Bethlehem · King Herod · Massacre of the Innocents · Saint Nicholas · Twelfth Night · Epiphany · Advent · Christmastide Father Christmas · Santa Claus · Mrs. Claus · Santa Claus's elfs · Santa Claus's reindeer · Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer · Sinterklaas · Père Noël · Joulupukki · Ded Moroz  · La Befana · Christkind · Black Peter · Krampus · Belsnickel · Le Père Fouettard · North Pole · Santa's workshop · Korvatunturi · Other characters

Folklore – Father Christmas · Santa Claus · Mrs. Claus · Santa Claus's elfs · Santa Claus's reindeer · Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer · Sinterklaas · Père Noël · Joulupukki · Ded Moroz  · La Befana · Christkind · Black Peter · Krampus · Belsnickel · Le Père Fouettard · North Pole · Santa's workshop · Korvatunturi · Other characters

Traditions – Twelve Days of Christmas · Christmas trees · Wassailing · Yule log · Stockings · Ornaments · Lights · Nutcrackers · Christmas cards · Christmas songs · Christmas films · Christmas stamps  · A Visit from St. Nicholas · A Christmas Carol · NORAD Tracks Santa · Secret Santa · Advent calendars · Yule Goats · Santa Claus parades · Flying Santa · Christmas markets · Plants · Food · Feasts · Events · Parades · German · Philippine · Polish · Serbian · Ukrainian · Miners' parades · Miner's figures · Candle arches · Christmas pyramids · Smoking figures · Incense candles

Media – Fiction · Films · Plays · Episodes · Specials · Albums · Best-selling albums · Hit singles and tracks · Best-selling singles · Carols · Other Christmas music and songs

Society – Christmas club · Christmas controversy · Christmas creep · Christmas Mountains · Christmas truce · Christmas in various language · Black Friday · Cyber Monday · White Christmas · Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 · Christmas and holiday season · Related holidays · List of winter festivals · SantaCon · Running of the Santas · Christmas in July · Christmas in August · Christmas in the American Civil War · Christmas in Puritan New England · Christmas in the post-War United StatesTemplate:/box-footer

Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Create Christmas tree production in the United States. Copyedit : Re-organize Santa Claus's reindeer. Disambiguation : Keep Christmas (disambiguation) updated; ensure all links are accurate. Expand : Articles listed in Category:Stub-Class Christmas articles, particularly Santa suit. Stubs : Add {{Holiday-stub}} to incomplete Christmas articles. Wikify : Add the template to the See also section of relevant articles. Other : Help assess Christmas-related articles by tagging their talk pages with the WikiProject Christmas banner. Check Category:Unassessed Christmas articles for currently unassessed articles.

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Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1	2	3
4	5	6 Saint Nicholas Day (Liturgical Calendar)	7	8	9	10
11	12	13 Saint Lucia Day	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21 Winter Solstice (NH) Summer Solstice(SH) Yule begins Chele/Yalda (Persian calendar)	22	23 Humanlight Festivus	24 Christmas Eve (Christian) Hanukkah begins at Sunset
25 Christmas Day (Christian)	26 La an Dreolin (Ireland) Kwanzaa begins Boxing Day	27 Uwiha Ch'uyay (Bolivia)	28 Dia de Innocentadas (Spain, Latin America)	29	30 Rizal day (Philippines)	31 New Years Eve (Gregorian calendar) Hogmanay (Scotland)

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