Christmas is an extremely festive and enjoyable time of the year, which commemorates the birth of Jesus. It is celebrated by an average of 2 billion people worldwide. Christmas Day falls on the 25th December and is an annual celebration across the world. Common traditions of Christmas are sending Christmas cards, exchanging gifts, Christmas music and putting up Christmas trees. In Christianity, the Christmas Tree symbolises the birth and resurrection of Jesus.

The idea of having a Christmas Tree originated from Germany in the 16th century when Christians put up decorated trees in their homes. Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages, with many other European countries following the idea. The largest Christmas tree in the world is in Enid, Oklahoma. Enid’s Christmas tree has a whopping height of 140 feet - that is 75% taller than New York’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which is 79 feet tall. This magnificent Christmas tree is decorated with roughly 25,000 multi-coloured LED lights, 10,000 ornaments and encircled with a forest of 12 smaller trees.

Another common Christmas tradition is sending cards. The first ever Christmas card known to have been sent was in 1843. It is thought that the card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and designed by John Callcott Horsley in London. Cole’s Christmas card was published and sold for a shilling per card, which was expensive for that time period. Now, an estimated 900 million Christmas cards are sent every year in the UK - it is said that the UK is the country that sends the most Christmas cards per year! On average, each Brit sends 16 cards every year.

Another popular Christmas tradition is the belief of Santa. Santa is known by many different names across different countries. Here are some examples:

America – Kris Kringle

England – Santa / Father Christmas

France – Père Noël / Papa Noël

Spain – Papa Noel

Germany – Weihnachtsmann

Italy – Babbo Natale

Portugal – Papai Noel

The traditional belief of Santa is that on Christmas Eve he will travel around the world on his sleigh led by his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf), and deliver presents to children all across the world. Santa is usually depicted as a portly, jolly man with a long white beard, wearing black leather boots and a red coat and red trousers, cuffed with white fur. Many families across the world leave out a glass of milk, carrots and a mince pie for Santa on Christmas Eve.