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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.

-3004 days, -19 hours, -6 minutes, -55 seconds until Christmas 2016

A nativity scene is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. While the term "nativity scene" typically includes two dimensional depictions in film, painting, printmaking, and other media, the term popularly refers to static, three dimensional, commercial or folk art dioramas, or pantomimes called "living nativity scenes" in which real humans and animals participate. Nativity scenes exhibit (at the minimum) figures representing the infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's husband, Joseph. Some nativity scenes include other characters from the Biblical story such as shepherds, the Magi, and angels. The figures are usually displayed in a stable, cave, or other structure. Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world and are displayed during the Christmas season in churches, homes, shopping malls, and other venues, and occasionally on public lands and in public buildings. The Vatican has displayed a scene in St. Peter's Square near its Christmas tree since 1982 and the Pope has for many years blessed the mangers of children assembled in St. Peter's Square for a special ceremony.

"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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• ...that the Kraków szopka is a unique Polish Christmas tradition that portrays artistic interpretations of buildings of Kraków along nativity scenes?
• ... that Mayor Tom Weisner once considered outlawing untimely holiday decorations, when citizens of Aurora, Illinois, complained of Christmas decorations abounding during the summer?
• ... that the Goodpasture Covered Bridge spanning the McKenzie River near Vida, Oregon is decorated for the Christmas season?

Christmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day. It has its origins in England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving a lot of dried fruit.

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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 {{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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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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