Christmas is an annual festival which marks the birth of Jesus Christ observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious as well as a cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. Many popular customs which are associated with Christmas are developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus birth with certain elements having origins in festivals which were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity. Christmas Day is celebrated as one of the major festival and public holiday in countries around the world which includes many whose populations are mostly non-Christian and among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed which incorporate regional and local cultures.
The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green and gold where red symbolizes the blood of Jesus which was shed in his crucifixion while green symbolizes eternal life as well as the evergreen tree which does not lose its leaves in the winter and gold is the first color associated with Christmas as one of the three gifts of the Magi symbolizing royalty. Some traditional decorating items include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, angels, etc and both the displaying of wreaths as well as candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The songs known specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during the celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas and it was only later that carols began to be sung in church.