christmaor christmadaia holidacelebrating the birth of jesus, the central figure of christianity. it itraditionallcelebrated on december 25 bmost western christian churches. although dating to probablaearlaa.d. 200, the feast of christmadid not become widespread until the middle ages. aspectof celebrati1304on mainclude gift-giving, christmatrees, displaof nativitsets, church attendance, the father christmas/santa claumyth, and familgatherings. the word christmaiderived from middle english christemasse. it ia contraction meaning "christmass". the name of the holidaioften shortened to xmabecause roman letter "x" resemblethe greek letter x, an abbreviation for christ.
