Christmas, annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Most members of the Roman Catholic Church and followers of Protestantism celebrate Christmas on December 25, and many celebrate on the evening of December 24 as well. Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church usually delay their most important seasonal ceremonies until January 6, when they celebrate Epiphany, a commemoration of the baptism of Jesus. Epiphany also traditionally commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men of the East in Bethlehem (near Jerusalem, Israel), where they adored the infant Jesus and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The official Christmas season, popularly known as either Christmastide or the Twelve Days of Christmas, extends from the anniversary of Christ’s birth on December 25 to the feast of Epiphany on January 6.

Christmas is based on the story of Jesus’ birth as described in the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke .Roman Catholics first celebrated Christmas, then known as the Feast of the Nativity, as early as 336 AD. The word Christmas entered the English language sometime around 1050 as the Old English phrase Christes maesse, meaning “festival of Christ.” Scholars believe the frequently used shortened form of Christmas—Xmas—may have come into use in the 13th century. The X stands for the Greek letter chi, an abbreviation of Khristos (Christ), and also represents the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

翻譯：

圣誕節，基督教的節日，紀念耶穌基督的誕生。羅馬天主教和新教的大多數成員在十二月二十五日慶祝圣誕節，也有許多成員在十二月二十四日慶祝。東正教的成員通常把他們最重要的季節儀式推遲到一月六日，那時他們慶祝主顯節，紀念耶穌的洗禮。主顯節也是傳統慶祝伯利恒東方三賢人到來（靠近耶路撒冷，以色列）的節日，在伯利恒人們朝拜圣嬰耶穌并送他黃金，乳香，沒藥做為禮物。官方的圣誕季節，以圣誕節節期或圣誕節的十二天最為流行，持續從基督出生周年紀念日十二月二十五日到一月六日的主顯節盛宴。

圣誕節是基于耶穌誕生故事中所描述的馬太福音和路加福音而來的節日。早在公元336年，羅馬天主教第一次慶祝圣誕節，然后以基督誕盛宴聞名，。圣誕節這個詞以古老的英語詞組Christes maesse進入英語語言大約在1050年前后 。意思是“基督節。”學者認為，經常使用的圣誕的簡稱可能使用于第十三世紀。X代表希臘字母智，簡稱Khristos（基督），也代表耶穌受難的十字架。