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Christmas is an annual holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, most commonly observed on December 25. It is celebrated as a religious and cultural event among billions of people around the world.
Christmas is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians. Many stories, legends, and traditions have evolved over the years connected to Christmas. This project is open to profiles connected to music, art, literature, legends, stories both true and fictional related to Christmas in some way. Add the profiles you find. Just make sure something in the About section explains the person's connection to Christmas.
There are a number of different dates for Christmas depending on which calendar is used.
- December 25 – Western and some Eastern churches
- January 7 (Julian December 25) – some Eastern churches
- January 6 – Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches
- January 19 (Julian January 6) – Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
History of Christmas
- 4th Century: Through many twists and turns, Saint Nikòlaos de Bari, Bishop de Myra will wind up inspiring Sinterklaas and "Jolly Saint Nick" many centuries down the road
- 1223: Saint Francis of Assisi creates the first Nativity scene, in the Sanctuary of Greccio in Lazio, Italy
- 1681: Deeply unpopular English-appointed governor Edmund Andros overturns the ban against Christmas celebrations that Puritan New England had enacted; a social stigma against Christmas remained into the 19th Century
- 1747: In Germany, Moravian bishop Johannes de Watteville invented and held the first Christingle service
- 1800: Charlotte of Mecklenburg, also known as "good Queen Charlotte," introduces England's first known Christmas tree, at Queen's Lodge in Windsor
- 1847: Augustus Imgard, a German immigrant in Ohio, became the first known person in the U.S. to decorate a Christmas tree with candy canes
Christmas Media
Literature
See also: Christmas Authors
- 1819: Washington Irving publishes The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.; its four Christmas-themed essays are credited with sparking national interest in the holiday in the U.S.
- 1843: Charles Dickens publishes his novel A Christmas Carol; it is credited with reviving interest in Christmas in England and with shaping the public conception of it
- 1957: Dr. Seuss publishes How the Grinch Stole Christmas, giving the world an indelible new Christmastime character
Visual Art
- 1305: Giotto finishes his fresco "Nativity of Jesus," part of a series of frescoes showing the life of Christ, in Padua, Italy
- "'1440-1445'" "The Annunciation'" It is not Fra Angelico's only painting on the subject but is his most famous. Painted as part of a massive mural linking rooms and halls in a monastery. His presentation of the subject compositionaly would be influential on all artists to tackle the subject afterwards. "'[Fra Angelico]'"
- '"1500-1501'" the fantastical otherworldly painting "The Mystical Nativity" painted by the incomparable master "'[Sandro Botticelli]'"
- 1504: Albrecht Dürer paints his Adoration of the Magi, commissioned by Frederick the Wise for the altar of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg
- 1566: Pieter Brueghel the Elder imagines Joseph and Mary answering Quirinius' call in a scene not unlike a small Flemish village in The Census at Bethlehem
- 1862: Editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast lays the foundation for American depictions of Santa Claus with an illustration on the cover of Harper's Weekly
- 1931: Advertising artist Haddon Sundblom paints his first Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola Company; his grandfatherly style helps shape the modern American conception of what Santa looks like
Film & Television
See also: Christmas Film and TV
- "'1942'" "Holiday Inn" starring, "'[Bing Crosby]'" "'[Fred Astaire]'"
- "'1942'" "The Bells of Saint Mary's" "'[Ingrid Bergman]'", "'[Bing Crosby]'"
- "'1944'" "Going My Way" Starring "'[Bing Crosby]'" , Jean Heather (needs profile), Barry Fitzgerald (needs profile)
- 1946: Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed star in the iconic Frank Capra masterpiece It's a Wonderful Life; it is commonly cited as the greatest Christmas film of all time
- 1947: A department store Santa Claus claims to be the real deal in Miracle on 34th Street, starring Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn
- "'1951'" "A Christmas Carol" Starring as Scrooge "'[Alastair Sim, CBE]'" costarring many profiles that need to be created.
- 1954: White Christmas is released, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen
- 1964: Burl Ives sang and narrated the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the classic stop-motion special
- 1965: The characters of Charles M. Schulz and his Peanuts gang taught us to love even the imperfect Christmas trees in A Charlie Brown Christmas
- 1969: The classic animated television special Frosty the Snowman is released, with Jimmy Durante as narrator
- '"1970'" "Scrooge" Starring as Scrooge, '"[Albert Finney]'" Starring as Jacob Marley, '"[Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE]'" Starring as the spectacular ghost of Christmas past, '"[Kenneth More, CBE]'" Starring as Ghost of Christmas past, Dame Edith Evans (profile has been invited) Starring as Old Fezziwig, Laurence Naismith (needs profile)
- '"1988'" " Scrooged" Starring as Frank Cross AKA Scrooge, '"[Bill Murray]'" also starring, '"[Robert Mitchum]'", '"[Karen Allen]'", '"[Alfre Woodard]'" '"[John Houseman]'", '"[Buddy Hackett]'"
- 1990: While his family is in Paris for Christmas vacation, Macaulay Culkin defends their Chicago home from the Wet Bandits in Home Alone
- 1992: Michael Caine plays Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol; in 2023, it passes It's a Wonderful Life as the UK's favorite Christmas movie in the annual Radio Times poll
- 2003: Elf, an unexpected smash hit starring Will Ferrell, becomes a canonical, joyful Christmas classic
- 2004: Long associated with Christmas Day releases in the U.S., Tom Hanks stars in the animated film The Polar Express, which becomes a modern classic for Generation Z
Song
- 1643: Wanting to tell the Indigenous Huron people the Christmas story in their own language, Saint Jean de Brébeuf composes "lesus Ahattonia" -- now known as "The Huron Carol," Canada's oldest
- 1741: Georg Friedrich Händel composes the oratorio Messiah; it is one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music, especially at Christmas time
- 1850: Composer Richard Storrs Willis provided the melody for "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," written the year prior by Edmund Sears
- 1857: James Pierpont wrote "The One Horse Open Sleigh," later known around the world as "Jingle Bells"
- 1892: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composes the score for The Nutcracker, which goes on to become the most iconic ballet of the Christmas season
- 1941: Katherine K. Davis writes "The Little Drummer Boy"
- 1942: Irving Berlin writes the Academy Award-winning song "White Christmas"; the version recorded by Bing Crosby remains, as of 2023, the world's best-selling single, with more than 100 million in sales
- 1970: Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano wishes the world a próspero año y felicidad with his hit '"Feliz Navidad"; it is added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010
- 1984: George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! release "Last Christmas"; in 2023, it becomes the third-biggest song of all-time in the UK
- 1987: Shane MacGowan and The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl release "Fairytale of New York"; it is voted the UK's favorite Christmas song by 2012 and is the most-played non-carol during the Christmas season
- 1994: Mariah Carey releases "All I Want for Christmas Is You"; it becomes a Christmas standard and in 2023 is selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the U.S. National Recording Registry
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Some sources for review for profiles to add:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas-themed_literature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_operas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_films
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_carols
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/dec/05/the-10-best-christm...
http://the-creative-business.com/24-famous-paintings-nativity/
https://www.artmajeur.com/en/magazine/5-art-history/the-nativity-in...
More:
- 92. Special Episode: The New Guys Celebrate Christmas, Plymouth (Massachusetts), December 25, 1621 < truecrimemedieval >