Christmas 2015

Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians honour as the Messiah and Son of God.

Christmas honours the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah and Son of God. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born in humble circumstances and laid in a manger. Shepherds hear the joyful announcement from angels and visit the infant. The Gospel of Matthew tells a distinct account involving wise men guided by a star, gifts and King Herod's threat to the child. These separate Gospel scenes are often combined in nativity art, but their narrative differences should not be erased.

The historical day of Jesus' birth is not known. Most Western churches observe Christmas on 25 December, while several Eastern churches use different liturgical calendars, creating a later civil date for their Christmas celebrations. Advent precedes Christmas in many traditions as a time of preparation. Churches gather for prayers, scripture readings, hymns and sometimes midnight or morning services.

Homes and communities celebrate with nativity scenes, decorations, trees, carols, meals, generosity and help for vulnerable neighbours. Santa Claus and gift traditions developed through additional cultural histories and are not characters in the Gospel birth accounts. The festival's Christian emphasis is on hope, reconciliation, love and the humility of the incarnation.

Christmas is significant to the community that observes it and helps preserve religious, family and cultural continuity.

Midnight mass, a tree, lights and the giving of presents. India's largest keeping of it is in Goa, Kerala and the north-east, with star lanterns hung outside houses through Advent. Gujarat's churches hold carols and a midnight service, and the day is a public holiday everywhere in the country.

Orthodox churches using the Julian calendar keep it on 7 January - Russia, Serbia, Georgia, the Ethiopian and Coptic churches. In India it is a national holiday and largest in Kerala, Goa, Mumbai and the north-eastern states; Kerala's Syrian Christian tradition is older than most European ones.