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 Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by 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;15 in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas
Day is a public holiday in many of the
world'
s nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians,20 as well as culturally by many
non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.
The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies. When Joseph and
Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ
Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information.