Christmas

What Is Christmas?

December 25th is Christmas, the Christian feast celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The word combines "Christ" and "Mass," the term for a religious service. In Japanese it is also called kōtansai, the Nativity festival.

Why December 25th?

The Bible gives no date for Jesus's birth. The oldest surviving record of a Nativity feast on December 25th is an entry for the year 336 in a Roman almanac compiled in 354, known as the Chronograph of 354. Several explanations exist for the choice of date. A well-known one holds that ancient Rome celebrated a sun god around the winter solstice, and that early Christians, who tended to associate Christ with the sun, came to mark the Nativity at that time of year.

• Europe and North America: Church services and a family meal are central; the food differs by country -- turkey, stollen, Christmas pudding and more.
• Parts of the Orthodox world: Churches that keep the Julian calendar celebrate the Nativity on January 7th by today's calendar.
• The Nordic countries: Finnish Lapland is known as Santa's home and draws visitors from all over the world.
• Japan: Established as a seasonal commercial event rather than a religious one, built around cake, fried chicken and illuminations.

Santa's Original Was a Fourth-Century Bishop

Santa Claus traces back to Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The legend that he quietly tossed gold coins through the windows of poor families at night -- some versions say into stockings -- became the seed of the gift-bringing Santa. The Dutch "Sinterklaas" is generally held to be the form that became "Santa Claus" in English.

Did Coca-Cola Invent the Red Suit?

People often say the red suit was Coca-Cola's creation. It is true that the Santa painted by the artist Haddon Sundblom for the company's advertising from 1931 onward carried today's image around the world. But Coca-Cola itself points out that Santas in red coats had already been illustrated before Sundblom began. The campaign did not invent the look -- it settled it. Sundblom is said to have worked from Clement C. Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

Japan's First Christmas Was in 1552

The earliest recorded Christmas in Japan goes back further than most people expect -- to the warring-states period. In 1552 (Tenbun 21), the missionary Cosme de Torres and his companions are said to have invited Japanese believers to a Christmas Mass in Yamaguchi, in the old province of Suo. The modern city of Yamaguchi bills itself as the birthplace of Christmas in Japan. Christianity was later banned, and the holiday only spread as a popular custom from the Meiji era onward.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Cook roast chicken or a gratin and take your time over dinner at home
• Hang stockings with the children and set up something to wake up to
• Go to a Christmas concert or a church candlelight service
• Send a short message to someone who helped you this year

Marking the Light Just After the Longest Night

That Christmas sits just after the winter solstice is probably no accident. Celebrating light at the darkest point of the year is an impulse that seems to cross beliefs. In 2026 it falls on a Friday, just before Japan's last workday of the year -- a chance to draw an early line under things.