Christmas Calendar: 
The Christmas Season: Holy Days & Dates related to Christmas

The Christmas holiday season is the season of  Christian holy days related to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Celebrations and dates vary between  churches and countries.  In particular, Eastern Orthodox churches use a different calendar, which means that the actual days on which they celebrate differ from the Western churches.  It is also worth noting that traditional celebrations often start in the evening of the previous day (possibly because Biblical days started at sundown).


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Calendar of Christmas related celebrations

A calendar of Christmas related celebrations follows, with links to more detailed explanations.

Date Day
November 15 beginning of Advent for Eastern Churches
November (4th Thursday) Thanksgiving (USA) - the following day is the beginning of the commercial Christmas Season
November 30 St Andrews day;  the nearest Sunday to St Andrew's day is the beginning of Advent in the Western churches.
December 5 St Nicholas eve (Holland)
December 6 St Nicholas day 
December 13 St Lucy's day (Sweden)
December 16 beginning of Posadas (Mexico, Spain)
December 20 - 23 (varies) astronomical solstice (not a Christian holy day, but celebrated by neopagans as Yule in Northern Hemisphere; Yule is the possible origin of some Christmas customs)
December 24 Christmas eve
December 25 Christmas day
December 26 St Stephen's day; Boxing day (England & British Commonwealth)
December 28 Childermas
December 31 New Year's eve, Hogmanay (Scotland)
January 1 New Year's day
January 5 Twelfth Night - the beginning of Epiphany celebrations
January 6  Epiphany /Twelfth Day/Three Kings day; the end of Christmas season in many churches, and the beginning of the Epiphany season. 
January 13 the 'octave of Epiphany',  and the end of the Christmas season in centuries past.
February 2 Candlemas (also groundhog day, hedgehog day) - the end of the Christmas season in Latin American cultures; the end of the Epiphany season in many churches.

 


 

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Christmas Season
Date of Xmas
Yule
Advent
Advent Calendar
St Nicholas Day
St Nicholas customs
Christmas Eve
Christmas
Childermas
Epiphany
Candlemas

 

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