Portal:Christmas

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The Christmas Portal

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.

46 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 40 seconds until Christmas 2016

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"A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line) is a poem first published anonymously in 1823. It is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the Anglosphere and the world. The poem was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823, and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. Authorship was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore and the poem was included in an 1844 anthology of his works.

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"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", Length: 1 minute 51 seconds

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a popular Christmas carol written by Charles Wesley. It first appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739, under the topic of "Hymn for Christmas-Day". The original opening couplet was "Hark! how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings".

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Related WikiProjects

WikiProject Holidays • WikiProject Festivals • WikiProject Religion

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Did you know?

• ...that the Christmas carol "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" was originally written as dance music for French nobility?
• ...that collecting Toyon branches for Christmas became so popular in Los Angeles, California in the 1920s, that the state passed a law forbidding collecting?
• ...that Hertfordshire puddingstone is a conglomerate rock named after its resemblance to Christmas pudding?

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A Christmas village (or putz) is a decorative, miniature-scale village often set up during the Christmas season. These villages are rooted in the elaborate Christmas traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Mass-produced cardboard Christmas villages became popular in the United States during the early and mid-20th century, while porcelain versions (especially those created by the company Department 56) became popular in the later part of the century.

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Quality content

Featured content

Christmas 1994 nor'easter • "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" • List of Christmas number one singles (UK)

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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"

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Topics

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 States

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Things you can do

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 {{Portal|Christmas}} 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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December 2016 calendar

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1	2	3
4	5	6 Saint Nicholas Day (Liturgical Calendar)	7 Pearl Harbor Day	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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