Christmas
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Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the liturgical year in Christianity, it follows the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast, and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season surrounding it.
Nativity scene depicted using Christmas lights
Adoration of the Shepherds (1622) by Gerard van Honthorst depicts the nativity of Jesus
Nativity of Christ, medieval illustration from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)
The Nativity, from a 14th-century missal, a liturgical book containing texts and music necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year
Twelve Days of Christmas
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The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the Twelve Days of Christmastide, are the festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity.
The Adoration of the Magi, Fresco at the Lower Church of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi in Assisi, Italy
Russian icon of the Theophany
Twelfth Night (The King Drinks) by David Teniers c. 1634–1640
Twelfth Night costumers in New Orleans