Every year, around the world, people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, 25 December.
It's a day – and season – filled with Christmas carols, tree decorating, gift-giving and parties.
The "Calculation hypothesis", suggests that 25 December was chosen because it was nine months after a date chosen as Jesus's conception (the Annunciation): 25 March, the Roman date of the spring equinox. The hypothesis was first proposed by French priest and historian Louis Duchesne in 1889.
Although some evidence suggests that Jesus' birth might have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.
Santa is called "Noel" because the word comes from Old French "Noël," meaning Christmas, which itself derives from the Latin "natalis dies" (birth day) for Jesus's birth, linking the gift-giver directly to the holiday's meaning of "birth" or "nativity". This is seen in names like Père Noël (Father Christmas) in French and Papá Noel (Dad Christmas) in Spanish, uniting the figure with the celebration
According to Christian tradition, January 6 marks the day the three kings actually arrived in Bethlehem and signals the end of the Christmas celebrations.
