Christmas (IPA:/krɪsməs/),also referred to as Christmas Day,is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[2][3] The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide,which lasts twelve days.[4] The nativity of Jesus,which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating,is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC.[5] December 25 is not known to be Jesus' actual date of birth,and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival[6] or the winter solstice.[7]
