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Faiths & Christmas

Is Christmas a Christian or a secular holiday?

Both. Christmas is the Christian feast of the birth of Jesus, and for many people it is also a cultural holiday they keep with family and friends, whatever they believe. In a 2013 survey in the United States, nine in ten Americans said they celebrate Christmas: about half saw it mainly as a religious holiday and about a third as a cultural one, and eight in ten non-Christians celebrated it too, most of them as a cultural holiday.

This chapter tells how the world’s churches and faiths keep the season, or relate to it, each in its own terms: why some Orthodox churches celebrate on January 7 (Orthodox Christmas), and the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah. The Christian story at the heart of the day is in the Christmas story.

True story

Lanterns of different kinds hanging from one branch under the stars: a paper star, a round paper lantern and a tin lantern, all glowing.
Plate IX Lanterns of different kinds on one branch, all shining under the same stars.

In this chapter

  1. Why do some Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7?9 minTrue story
  2. What is Hanukkah, and is it “Jewish Christmas”?7 minTrue story

Where our facts come from

  1. Pew Research Center, "Celebrating Christmas and the Holidays, Then and Now", December 18, 2013 (survey December 3–8, 2013), Opening paragraph (nine in ten Americans celebrate; 96% of Christians; eight in ten non-Christians, most as a cultural holiday); "Religious Observance of Christmas", paragraph 1 (51% religious, 32% cultural); "Gathering with Family and Friends", paragraph 1 (those who see it as a cultural holiday gather with family and friends)
  2. History.com, "History of Christmas: Origins, Traditions & Facts" (published October 27, 2009; updated September 10, 2026), Opening paragraphs 1 and 2 ("Christmas, celebrated annually on December 25, is a religious holiday as well as a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon"; "Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus")
  3. Erin Blakemore, "Why some people celebrate Christmas in January", National Geographic, December 26, 2019 (updated December 30, 2022), "Resolving the Orthodox calendar crisis", paragraph 4 ("other Orthodox churches, like those of Russia and Egypt, refused… They celebrate Christmas on January 7")
  4. My Jewish Learning, "Hanukkah 101", Opening paragraph ("It is also known as the Festival of Lights and usually takes place in December")