Christmas Miracle: Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th and where did the tradition of gift-giving originate?

Congratulations to Ukrainians on one of the most beloved winter holidays!

This year, Ukraine celebrates Christmas for the second time according to the New Julian calendar – on December 25, instead of January 7 as before. Why do we celebrate one of the greatest Christian holidays on this specific day? Is it permissible to celebrate it twice – on both the old and new calendars? And where did the tradition of giving Christmas gifts originate? KASHTAN NEWS explains.

Where the Date Comes From

In fact, the exact date of Jesus Christ’s birth is not mentioned in the Gospel. So why do most Christian churches around the world celebrate it on December 25?

As explained by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, there have historically been several approaches to determining this date in church tradition.

“According to one of them, Christ was on earth for a complete number of years, so He was conceived on the day of the Annunciation, which, according to some calculations, coincides with the day of the Crucifixion. The Jewish Passover, when the Savior was crucified, fell that year on March 25. Counting back 9 months from there, December 25 was obtained as the date of Christmas,” – as stated in a post on the official page of the OCU on Facebook.

According to the second approach, the date of Christmas is calculated based on the date of conception of the prophet John the Baptist, who, as mentioned in the Gospel, was six months older than Jesus.

“From the date of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, by counting backward, the date of the glorious prophet's conception was derived as September 23. From here, 6 months forward brings us to the date of the Annunciation and the miraculous conception of the Son of God (March 25). Adding another 9 months gives us the date of the Savior's birth, December 25,” – explained the OCU.

New Style or Old Style?

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine reminds us that what is essential for Christians is not the date or specific calendar numbers, but the meaning and significance of this event. As the rector of the Open Orthodox University of St. Sophia of Wisdom, Archpriest Georgiy Kovalenko, explained in a comment to RBK-Ukraine, the Church does not prohibit believers from following the old calendar if they wish to do so. Thus, each parish decides independently whether to celebrate Christmas on December 25 or January 7.

“However, the experience of the transition has shown that the vast majority of parishes of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have chosen the new style. Even those parishes that initially thought they would stick to the old style have, in fact, transitioned under the pressure of the people,” – noted Kovalenko.

According to him, in OCU parishes, there is almost no practice of celebrating Christmas twice – on both December 25 and January 7, since the church community lives not by calendar dates and numbers, but by an annual liturgical (festive) cycle.

“And therefore, there is actually no need to celebrate major holidays twice,” – the priest explained.

At the same time, Kovalenko noted that if we understand the holiday as the custom of giving gifts, then “gifts can be given every day.”

Who Invented Christmas Gifts and Where Santa Claus Came From

Historically, the custom of giving gifts to loved ones at Christmas emerged in Europe quite late – around the turn of the first and second millennia. It developed from two traditions: the legend of St. Nicholas, who gifted a bag of gold to a poor family, and the biblical account of the three wise men who came from the East to honor the birth of the baby Jesus and brought Him three gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Thus, in many countries, children still receive gifts either on December 6 – St. Nicholas Day, or on January 6 – Epiphany (the day the wise men arrived in Bethlehem). However, since Christmas is the most significant church holiday of the winter cycle, this custom gradually spread to December 25.

In many cultures, the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas has overlapped with ancient, still pagan customs, so the gift-giver is often considered to be a specific folklore character. Even the world-famous Santa Claus, borrowed by American culture from the Netherlands in the 19th century, where gifts at winter holidays are brought by St. Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas), bears features of the ancient Germanic and Norse god Odin (Wotan) – a long white beard and the retinue accompanying him on winter journeys (in ancient Scandinavia, Odin had the epithet Jólnir – “he who comes at Yule – the festival of midwinter”).

Many traits of Santa Claus were also borrowed from the Finnish Joulupukki – a mythical Christmas grandfather who wears a red coat and red leather pants. The name Joulupukki translates from Finnish as “Christmas goat” and is associated with an ancient pagan custom where one participant in the midwinter festival would dress as a goat as a symbol of fertility (a similar custom of “leading the goat” at Christmas exists in many regions of Ukraine).

Currently, the image of Joulupukki has effectively merged with that of Santa Claus, and the Finnish Christmas grandfather is officially considered the main Santa Claus in the world. His fairy-tale residence is located near the Finnish city of Rovaniemi in Lapland, where millions of tourists come every year for the winter holidays.

Father Christmas, Baby Jesus, and St. Basil

However, despite the global popularity of Santa Claus, in many countries around the world, gifts for children are brought by entirely different folklore characters. These can be the biblical wise men, Christmas gnomes, Father Christmas (an old man with a white beard very similar to Santa Claus), St. Nicholas, or St. Basil the Great, whose feast day is celebrated in the church calendar on January 1. Accordingly, the date on which gifts are given can also vary – ranging from December 6 (St. Nicholas Day) to January 6 (the feast of Epiphany).

Here is a brief overview of who gives gifts to children and when in various countries around the world: