November
29
Next in the Christmas year · Sunday
Advent begins
Kept by Western churches (the Sunday on or nearest to November 30).
In 33 days
Read about the day
True storyIn Denmark, woven paper hearts belong to Christmas: families cut and weave them together and hang them on the tree.
True storyUkrainian families still hang little spider ornaments on the tree. Why a spider? There's a tale for that.
A Christmas book for everyone
The true story of Christmas, and all the stories we tell.
Pull up a chair. Here is where Christmas came from, how the world keeps it, the carols and the stories behind them, and the legends people tell by the tree. Every fact has a source you can check, every tale is marked as a tale, and every page is free.
Look for the gold star. It means this part is history, checked against our sources.
59 sleeps until Christmas
Read about the day
Lift the flaps
Questions children ask, and grown-ups still wonder about.
Who was Saint Nicholas?
True storyA bishop of Myra, in today’s Turkey, who lived in the 300s. His feast day is December 6.
Is there a story behind the stockings?
A tale people tellYes, a tale about Saint Nicholas. In the way the story is usually told today, his gold lands in a stocking left by the fire to dry.
What do children leave out for Saint Nicholas?
Christmas magicTheir shoes, on the night of December 5, the eve of his day. In the morning, in many countries, they find small treats inside.
When did people start celebrating Christmas?
True storyFor about the first two hundred years, we find no sign of a feast for Jesus’ birth. The oldest record we have of Christmas on December 25 is in a Roman almanac of 354, in a list of feast days probably drawn up by about the year 336.
The chapters of the book
Eleven chapters to begin with, and new pages as the book grows.
The First Christmas
As the Bible tells itThe birth of Jesus in Bethlehem as the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell it, in brief, with the pages that tell each part in full.
Where Christmas Came FromTrue storyThe oldest record of Christmas on December 25 is in a Roman almanac of 354, from a list of feasts probably drawn up by about 336. How the feast grew, and when.
The Christmas SeasonTrue storyFrom Advent, four Sundays before Christmas, to the twelve days ending at Epiphany on January 6, and for some churches on to Candlemas, February 2.
Traditions, Food & CustomsTrue storyFrom many times and places. A 1521 account book a town counts as the oldest Christmas tree mention, a card sent in 1843, kissing under the mistletoe by 1784.
Saint Nicholas, Santa & the Gift-BringersTrue storyChristmas magicThe real Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived in the 300s; Santa Claus as families know him; and who brings the presents around the world.
Legends & StoriesTrue storyA tale people tellThe tales people tell at Christmas, told with love and marked as tales, and the stories to read aloud by the fire.
Christmas Around the WorldTrue storyHow the world keeps Christmas, country by country, with the words people say there and how to say them.
Words to SayTrue storyMerry Christmas in Spanish, German, Italian, Swedish, Filipino and Japanese, with how to say each one, syllable by syllable.
Faiths & ChristmasTrue storyChristmas is the Christian feast of Jesus’ birth, and many people of other faiths and none also keep it as a cultural holiday. Each faith in its own terms.
Carols & MusicTrue storyThe stories behind the carols, with their words: who wrote them, when and where they first appeared, and how they traveled.
Games & Things to MakeChristmas magicGames that teach what the book teaches, for children and grown-ups together, with the age each one suits. Nothing to sign up for.
Tonight, all around the world
Here is Merry Christmas in four of the book’s countries. Tap a greeting and say it with the star.
Christmas magicIn Mexico the big morning for presents is January 6, Día de Reyes, when children find what the Three Kings left by the nativity scene or under the tree.
MEXICO24 XII
Mexico · Spanish
¡Feliz Navidad!
tap, and follow the star
For the nine nights from December 16 to December 24, Mexican neighborhoods keep Las Posadas.
Christmas in Mexico
True storyIn the Philippines, Christmas Day is one of the country's national holidays.
PHILIPPINES25 XII
The Philippines · Filipino
Maligayang Pasko
tap, and follow the star
From December 16 to 24, Filipino Catholics keep Simbang Gabi: nine Masses in a row, by tradition at dawn.
Christmas in the Philippines
Christmas magicOn Christmas Eve the jultomten comes to the party and hands out the presents himself.
SWEDEN24 XII
Sweden · Swedish
God jul
tap, and follow the star
In Sweden the big day is Christmas Eve, December 24, the year’s great family holiday.
Christmas in Sweden
Christmas magicIn the south of Germany the presents mostly come from the Christkind; in the north it is usually the Weihnachtsmann.
GERMANY24 XII
Germany · German
Frohe Weihnachten
tap, and follow the star
In Germany the presents come on Christmas Eve: the tree is traditionally trimmed that day, and the gifts appear beneath it by evening.
Christmas in Germany
the ink is still drying!
Fresh from the press
The newest pages in the book, each one researched and sourced.
New in The World
How is Christmas (Genna) celebrated in Ethiopia?
True storyReads aloud in 6 minutes
New in The World
How is Christmas celebrated in Australia?
True storyReads aloud in 6 minutes
New in The World
How is Christmas celebrated in Germany?
True storyReads aloud in 6 minutes
A shelf for bedtime
Read aloud tonight
Pages with a version made for reading to a child, and how long each one takes.
- The Christmas story for childrenAs the Bible tells itabout 3 minutesRead it to a child
- The legend of the Christmas spiderA tale people tellabout a minuteRead it to a child
- The Yule Cat and Grýla, Iceland’s Christmas talesA tale people tellabout a minuteRead it to a child
Things to play and say
For rainy afternoons, long car rides and the last night before Christmas.
True storyWhy so many robins on Christmas cards? One theory is that Britain's early postmen wore bright red waistcoats and were nicknamed 'robins'. Not everyone is convinced: the bird may have been tied to Christmas even before the red coats.
Game
Who brings the presents?
A matching game: match each gift-bringer to the place where children wait for them, and learn who comes where.
On this page
Lift the flaps
Four questions under paper flaps. Lift one, and the answer is underneath, with its seal.
Words to say
Say it with the star
Merry Christmas in Spanish, Filipino, Swedish and German, the four greetings on this page, with how to say each one, syllable by syllable.
Where our facts come from
- Michael Ott, "St. Nicholas of Myra", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 11 (1911), Paragraph 1 (bishop of Myra in Lycia in the fourth century); paragraph 3 (6 December, the day the Church celebrates his feast)
- Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate for Cultural Assets and Museums, "St. Nicholas Memorial Museum" fact sheet, The leaflet's text on Saint Nicholas (the places where he was born and lived are within the borders of Türkiye; Myra, now called Demre)
- St. Nicholas Center, "Three Impoverished Maidens", Story paragraph 2 (the gold sails in through an open window and lands in a stocking left before the fire to dry); the note after the story (the origin people give for hanging a stocking)
- St. Nicholas Center, "St. Nicholas Customs Around the World", Opening section (the eve, December 5; shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night; small treats so the children know he has come)
- St. Nicholas Center, "Around the World", The paragraph on customs from forty-two countries
- C. C. Martindale, "Christmas", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3 (1908), Section on early celebration ("Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts"; "The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. About A.D. 200"); section on Rome (the Depositio Martyrum dates, "as is probable, from 336"); section on Rome: the Philocalian Calendar, "compiled in 354"
- The Chronography of 354, Part 12, "Depositio Martyrum" (Latin text, Roger Pearse's edition), Heading "ITEM DEPOSITIO MARTIRVM", first entry: "VIII kal. Ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae"
- Maria del Pilar Guzman, "Las Posadas Navideñas: Journeying to Bethlehem alongside the Holy Family", OSV News, December 16, 2025, Body paragraph 2 (the nine nights leading up to Christmas, from Dec. 16 to Dec. 24)
- CBCP News, "Instructions on the celebration of Aguinaldo Masses, Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi", December 2, 2020, Introduction ("traditionally held at dawn from December 16 to 24"); section 1 ("nine consecutive early morning or dawn Masses")
- Visit Sweden, "How to celebrate Christmas in Sweden – a guide to traditions and activities" (last updated October 15, 2025), Opening image caption; section "Christmas Eve – the highlight of the season", paragraph 1
- German National Tourist Board, "Christmas Eve: Christmas tree, Christ Child and Father Christmas", Introduction, sentence 4; section "Glittering Christmas time…", paragraph 1