Christmas and holiday season

At Christmas time is a term, which refers to the festive atmosphere that prevails in large parts of the western world between the end of November and the beginning of January. In Christianity, the first Advent is seen as the starting shot for the Christmas preparations although modern Christmas shopping starts at Black Friday.

Christmas and holiday season
Christmas tree in Japan. Christmas is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians around the world.
Also called	Christmas season Christmastime Holiday season The holidays Festive season Winter holidays (northern hemisphere) Summer holidays (southern hemisphere) Yuletide New Year's holidays Other local or national customs
Significance	Christian and secular festive season
Begins	November
Ends	Early January (usually after either New Year's Day, on [[Epiphany (holiday)
Observances	Gift giving, family meetings, religious services, parties, other holiday-specific traditions
Related to	Christmas Day (Eve), Boxing Day, New Year's Day (Eve), (holiday), Thanksgiving (US), Hanukkah, Yule, Epiphany, Kwanzaa (US), Winter solstice, others

Within the Roman Catholic Church, the term was originally seen as synonymous with the Christmas Twelfth.

The period in the northern hemisphere is known as a winter holiday, with songs such as Advent being dark and cold and White Christmas, while in the southern hemisphere it falls during the summer. It rarely snows in the southern hemisphere during the Christmas holidays, except in the alpine areas of Australia, Chile, Argentina, the Highlands of New Guinea and the Southern Alps of South Island.