The festive season has arrived, with sleigh bells ringing and the timely smattering of snow glistening on our streets.
Amid all the mince pies, carol singing and present-buying, it might be difficult to take a pause and remember why the date is in our calendar. Sky News looks at the origins of the traditional holiday and how it is celebrated across the globe.
What is Christmas?
Christmas comes every year on 25 December and is a Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
While many celebrate the holiday to honour Jesus’s birth, it has also become a worldwide cultural holiday and is often celebrated by non-Christians alike.
The English term “Christmas” – a merger of Christ and mass – is of comparatively recent origin, dating from the time when it was celebrated with a mass in the Catholic Church. The older term “Yule” dates from when the period was a celebration of the winter solstice, according to Britannica.
In other countries, the day of celebration may be called “Navidad” in Spanish, “Natale” in Italian and “Noal” in French, deriving from the term “nativity”.
Does everyone celebrate Christmas on 25 December?
While Protestants and Catholics celebrate on the 25th, a lot of countries and religious sectors may choose to embrace the festive period on a different day, this is in accordance with the Julian Calendar.
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Orthodox and Coptic Christians will celebrate Christmas on 7 January.
Here’s how Christmas is celebrated around the globe:
Poland – The breaking of bread
Image: Christmas in Poland. Pic: Reuters
On Christmas Eve, families gather to share Oplatiki. This tradition began with a simple white wafer, baked from flour and water and is designed with a display of Christmas images.
Traditionally, each person around the table breaks off a piece as they wish one another a merry Christmas.
Iceland – Book giving
Image: Book-giving tradition in Iceland. Pic: Reuters
Also known as “Jolabokaflod” which translates to “the Christmas book” is an Icelandic tradition of giving new books on Christmas Eve and reading them with family and friends.
After receiving a book to dive into, be sure to cosy up in bed or by the fireplace, with a hot chocolate for the night.
Mexico – Night of the Radishes
Image: Mexico, Noche de los Rabanos. Pic: AP
An annual event which is held on December 23 and is known as Noche de los Rabanos in Oaxaca City.
Radishes have always played an integral part in Oaxaca’s Christmas cuisine, as an essential ingredient and a decorative garnish.
The yearly radish carving competition dates back to 1897 and became a part of that year’s Christmas market. The tradition continues to this day.
Image: Colonel Sanders statue dressed as Santa Claus at a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Tokyo. Pic: Reuters
In Japan, families gather around the dinner table to eat a bucket of fried chicken to commemorate the festive season.
Some say that the first KFC enterprising manager in Japan, by the name of Takeshi Okawara, told a white lie in 1970 and marketed fried chicken as a traditional American Christmas food to encourage sales at the time.
Okawara’s venture set the tone for Christmas in Japan.
Austria – Krampus
Image: Traditional Krampus run in the village of Biberwier. Pic: Reuters
Every year, children in Austria get ready for St Nicholas to visit them and as the traditions go, if the children have been well-behaved, he’ll reward them. If the children have been bad, they’ll have to face Krampus.
The half-man, half-goat is known to chase around naughty children and drag them to hell, according to ancient Austrian folklore tales.
United Kingdom – Christmas pudding
Image: Flamed Christmas pudding. Pic: AP
First introduced to the UK in the 14th century, many Britons still keep to the tradition of placing a silver coin in the pudding that is said to bring good luck
The pudding is traditionally made with raisins, currants, prunes, wines, and spices and is an all-time favourite in the UK.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.