While the Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on 25th December; the Greek, Syrian and Orthodox Christians celebrate it on 6th January, while the American Christians here celebrate it on 18th January.
Rather unusually, Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, with only some Catholics choosing to mark the occasion on December 25th. This is because the Russian Orthodox church uses a different, older calendar – known as Julian – for religious celebrations.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion.
Many people in the Netherlands observe the second day of Christmas, which falls on December 26. It is a continuation of the Christmas holiday or a chance to spend time outdoors or with family or friends.
In Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland, presents are traditionally exchanged on the evening of 24 December.
Those differences begin with the Christmas calendar. Rather than the 12 days of Christmas celebrated elsewhere, Icelandic Christmas has 13 days. And traditionally, that's because of the Yule Lads.
In Japan, Christmas is the time for friends and couples to have parties, make plans to meet up for dinner and celebrate as much as they can. And New Year is the time of the year when all members of the family come together, visit the temple, and usher-in January 1st, with food and drinks.
This is because of the tilt of the earth. Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere and during the month of December, there will be the summer season in the southern hemisphere and the winter season in the northern hemisphere.
But did you know that we Australians celebrate Christmas in July? It's pretty confusing if you really think about it, but Australians get to celebrate Christmas twice a year. Once on the traditional December 25th, and then once again in July.
The celebrations of Christmas in the Philippines have deep influences of Catholicism, tracing their roots back to Spanish colonial rule from 1521 to 1898. Currently, the Philippines holds the longest running festivity of the Christmas season in the world, which begins on September 1.
The common Christian traditional dating of the birthdate of Jesus was 25 December, a date first asserted officially by Pope Julius I in 350 AD, although this claim is dubious or otherwise unfounded.
People in Russia celebrate Christmas Day with activities such as having a family dinner, attending a Christmas liturgy and visiting relatives and friends. There is a 40-day Lent preceding Christmas Day, when practicing Christians do not eat any meat.
Orthodox Christmas day occurs every January 7 because the Orthodox Church still chooses to celebrate the birth of Jesus as per the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar that is currently in use today led to a new Christmas Day on December 25 due to the addition of new elements that changed the calendar year.
Norway. Perhaps one of the most unorthodox Christmas Eve traditions can be found in Norway, where people hide their brooms. It's a tradition that dates back centuries to when people believed that witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on.
New Zealand is the first country to see the sun on Christmas morning.
The aptly named Christmas Island, or Kiritimati, will be among the first to reach 25 December, 14 hours ahead of the UK. Meanwhile, people in parts of Hawaii will have the longest to wait before they get to celebrate Christmas, with a 10-hour time difference to the UK.
Santa Claus goes by lots of names, depending on where you are in the world. In Australia and other English-speaking countries, he's usually called Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or sometimes just “Santa” for short.
The short answer? July marks the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere and the cooler temperatures lend themselves to all the cosy Christmas traditions - flickering fires, flowing mulled wine and wrapped presents waiting in anticipation beneath a bauble-clad tree.
Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' in Mandarin, which translates as 'Christmas Old Man', and he is seen as a non-religious figure who lives in a fairytale Arctic Christmas Village in China's North Pole.
Victoria. Carols by Candlelight is a tradition that started in Melbourne in 1938 and has since spread around Australia and the world. At the event people gather on Christmas Eve, usually outdoors, to sing carols by candlelight in a large-scale concert style event.
In Australia, Christmas comes in the towards the beginning of the summer holidays! Children have their summer holidays from mid December to early February, so some people might even be camping at Christmas. Because it's so hot at Christmas time in Australia, there are quite often massive bush fires across the country.
Boxing Day is a statutory holiday in the UK and several of its former colonies. On the other hand, if it occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is designated as the official holiday.
The campaign started in the 70s to tempt tourists and expats with chicken on Christmas Day when they couldn't find turkey to eat, and was the the brainchild of Takeshi Okawara, the manager of the first KFC in the country, according to the BBC.
In Japan Santa is known as サンタさん、サンタクロース / Santa-san (Mr Santa) or サンタクロース / Santa-Kurosu (Santa Claus). (Another Japanese gift bringer is Hoteiosho, a Japanese god of good fortune from Buddhism. But he is NOT related to Christmas.)
People come together in cathedrals and churches across the country to pray and sing carols (known as Chants de Noël). They celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, believed to have happened on that night. After the service, people return home to either sleep, eat, or open presents (for those with excited little ones).