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When it comes to winter holidays, Christmas takes up a lot of airspace. Celebrated around the world, Christmas is considered both a religious holiday, honoring the birth of Jesus, and a cultural holiday, with a history and tradition that combines Christian beliefs with ancient folklore and pagan rituals. For some, Christmas is not at all Christian, but a time for trees, Santa Claus and food.
The traditional Christmas story goes that Joseph and Mary head to Bethlehem, trying to find a room for the night, then staying in a barn where Mary gave birth to Jesus. However, the date of Jesus’ birth is not actually known, and the customs traditionally enjoyed during the Christmas holidays began long before he was born. The winter solstice was celebrated for centuries before Christianity, with festivals that involved burning Christmas logs, decorating homes with fir trees, and providing gifts and food to family members. As Christianity took hold, December 25 was chosen as the day to honor the birth of Christ, with speculation that having a Christian celebration alongside pagan rituals would help promote the religion and attract more people. followers.
In 1870, Christmas was declared a federal holiday and is now one of the most popular holidays in the United States, in addition to being widely celebrated in other countries.
But Christmas is not the only holiday celebrated during the winter season. There are a plethora of other culturally significant holidays for their homelands, some of which have festivities that far exceed the most ostentatious Christmas celebration.
From religious holidays to ceremonies honoring the change of seasons, as well as secular events that take place in many different countries, Stacker has gathered information from a variety of sources to compile a list of the fall and winter holidays celebrated in the whole world. These include national and local holidays, religious days and long-standing cultural traditions.
Take a look at these 20 various holidays celebrated between October and February.
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