Christmas is mainly a Christian festival celebrated on 25th of December every year to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It actually symbolizes the beginning of twelve day festival called Christmastide. The date of Christmas, that is, 25th December is not exactly known as the birthday of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity but perhaps the date has been chosen for some Roman festival or probably Winter Solstice. Modern day celebrations include giving gifts, Church celebrations and decorating houses specially with Christmas tree or the Star etc.

History
The word Christmas comes from Christ’s Mass which is derived from Middle English term Christmases. The 1st letter of Christ in Greek is X (chi) and that is why Christmas is often abbreviated as X-Mas. But the actual date of the birth of jesus is not accurately known till date. Till now various writers or people have given opinions about the selection of the date. According to judeo – Christian tradition it is believed to be on March 25th. According to Julius, Jesus after remaining for nine months in the virgin Mother’s womb came to the world on 25th December. Isaac Newton believed that date was selected to coincide with Winter Solstice.

Santa Claus
A very important character associated with Christmas is Santa Claus who is also called father Christmas. It is said that his actual name is Saint Nicholas. The 1st popular image of Santa Claus was sketched by Thomas Nast a very popular German – American Cartoonist. The image gradually evolved with time and now we have our round shaped cute bearded Santa Clause. It is believed that on the night of Christmas eve Santa Claus secretly bring Gifts especially for the children.

Decorations and celebrations
The Christmas tree is the mostly used decoration found mainly in many Christian families. It uses evergreen bough and is a tradition surrounding the winter solstice. It is believed that the modern day Christmas tree originated in Germany and was then introduced to England but still many who believe that Martin Luther began it in 16th century. In western countries roll of colored papers are used to wrap gifts. Other traditional decoration include bells, candles, candy canes, sleighs and decorated light bulbs.