Christmas is the main public holiday in Britain and the US when people spend time with their families, eat special food, and drink a lot. Christmas is a Christian festival to remember the birth of Jesus, and people often regret that it is now very "commercial" and seen as a time of merry-making and present-giving. 

Before Christmas Day

Because people give each other presents, in the days and weeks before Christmas the shops become very busy.  Newspapers and television, etc. say how many shopping there are left and people often spend a lot of money. Many people enjoy this but others feel that Christmas has become too much of a business and so has lost its meaning. 

People also buy and send Christmas cards to their friends, usually containing the message "Merry Christmas". The cards often show pictures of the nativity, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, robins or scenes of old-fashioned Christmases. 

Carols are sung, especially in churches. Some carols, e.g. O Come all Ye Faithful and Silent Night, are very well known. People sometimes go carol singing, which means singing carols in the street, outside people's houses. 

People usually decorate their houses and many people have a Christmas tree in their house which they also decorate. 

Young children are told that Santa Claus will bring them presents if they are good. Children sometimes write a letter to Santa Claus telling him what presents they would like for Christmas. They hang up a stocking (really a sock) on Christmas Eve and Santa Claus is supposed to come down the chimney in the night and fill it with presents. 

December 24th, the day Christmas Day, is called Christmas Eve. Some people go to a special church service called midnight mass at 12 o'clock at night. Others may have a drink with their friends. 

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is a public holiday. Families usually spend the day opening their presents and eating and drinking together. The most important meal is Christmas dinner. The typical meal consists of turkey with potatoes and other vegetables, e.g. carrots and sprouts. In Britain this is followed by Christmas pudding. Other traditional foods in Britain include Christmas cake and mince pies.  Americans bake special biscuits called Christmas cookies which they eat over the Christmas season.

At the start of the meal, British people often pull a cracker, which contains a small toy, a paper hat, and a joke. 

After Christmas

In Britain, the day after Christmas day is called Boxing Day and is also a public holiday. A lot of sport takes place on Boxing Day and many people now spend time watching sport on television. In the US many stores hold special sales, where things can be bought cheaply, on the day after Christmas. 

Twelve days after Christmas (Twelfth Night) is the time when people are supposed to take down their decorations and remove their Christmas trees.