Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with some claiming that certain elements are Christianized and have origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity; other scholars reject these claims and affirm that Christmas customs largely developed in a Christian context. [95] [22] The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival-like state in the Middle Ages, [96] to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century transformation. [97] [98] The celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain groups, such as the Puritans and Jehovah's Witnesses (who do not celebrate birthdays in general), due to concerns that it was too unbiblical. [99] [57] [100] Heinz, Donald (2010). Christmas: Festival of Incarnation. Fortress Press. p.94. ISBN 978-1-4514-0695-5. Holidays at the Museums: Carnegie Museum of Natural History". Carnegiemnh.org. November 26, 2013. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013 . Retrieved December 25, 2013. Stetzer, Ed (December 14, 2015). "What Is Church Attendance Like During Christmastime? New Data From LifeWay Research". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018 . Retrieved December 9, 2018.

Among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures. Print out and assemble these darling Nativity figures for play and for learning the true story of Christmas. Bonus: They kind of look like Minecraft figures. 😉 Christmas and its cycle". New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.3 (2nded.). Catholic University of America Press. 2002. pp.550–557. Light brown – countries that do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday, but the holiday is given observance. Many Christians attend church services to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. [166] a b c Restad, Penne L. (1995). Christmas in America: a History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-510980-1.Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (sole date), and P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical) Churches (primary date) a b Hutton, Ronald (2001). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285448-3. Christian church of God – history of Christmas". Christianchurchofgod.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010 . Retrieved February 24, 2011.

Collins, Ace, Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Zondervan, (2003), ISBN 0-310-24880-9 p.47. The treatise De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, pseudepigraphically attributed to John Chrysostom and dating to the early fourth century, [77] [78] also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as March 25. [79] [80] This anonymous tract also states: "But Our Lord, too, is born in the month of December... the eight before the calends of January [25 December]..., But they call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice." [24] Solstice date hypothesis

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The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, and Christmas was again freely celebrated in England. [58] Many Calvinist clergymen disapproved of Christmas celebration. As such, in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland discouraged the observance of Christmas, and though James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, attendance at church was scant. [120] The Parliament of Scotland officially abolished the observance of Christmas in 1640, claiming that the church had been "purged of all superstitious observation of days". [121] Whereas in England, Wales and Ireland Christmas Day is a common law holiday, having been a customary holiday since time immemorial, it was not until 1871 that it was designated a bank holiday in Scotland. [122] Hyden, Marc (December 20, 2021). "Merry Christmas, Saturnalia or festival of Sol Invictus?". Newnan Times-Herald. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022 . Retrieved February 17, 2023. Around 274 ADᵃ, Emperor Aurelian set December 25—the winter solstice at the time—for the celebration of Sol Invictus who was the 'Unconquered Sun' god. 'A marginal note on a manuscript of the writings of the Syriac biblical commentator Dionysius bar-Salibi states that in ancient times the Christmas holiday was actually shifted from January 6 to December 25 so that it fell on the same date as the pagan Sol Invictus holiday,' reads an excerpt from Biblical Archaeology. / Could early Christians have chosen December 25 to coincide with this holiday? 'The first celebration of Christmas observed by the Roman church in the West is presumed to date to [336 AD],' per the Encyclopedia Romanaᵃ, long after Aurelian established Sol Invictus' festival. Andrew McGowan. "How December 25 Became Christmas". Bible Review & Bible History Daily. Biblical Archaeology Society. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012 . Retrieved February 24, 2011.

As in England, Puritans in Colonial America staunchly opposed the observation of Christmas. [100] The Pilgrims of New England pointedly spent their first December 25 in the New World working normally. [100] Puritans such as Cotton Mather condemned Christmas both because scripture did not mention its observance and because Christmas celebrations of the day often involved boisterous behavior. [125] [126] Many non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England. [127] Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659. [100] The ban on Christmas observance was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund Andros, but it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region. [128] In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas). [145]After Christmas and Epiphany were in place, on December 25 and January 6, with the twelve days of Christmas in between, Christians slowly adopted a period called Advent, as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Christmas.