Because Christmas has a strong religious and traditional meaning, flags flown to celebrate it can either have religious or seasonal overtones. Many flags are flown indoors and outdoors. Christmas seasonal flags may feature snowmen, holly, ivy, candy canes, reindeer, colored lights and trees, while religious flags often feature nativity scenes and other religious emblems.
Since the fourth century the biggest Christian holiday in the world has been Christmas Day, December 25, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the holiday is probably a joining of other celebrations and dates back even further as the Romans used to celebrate the Birthday of the Unconquerable son (Natalis Solis Invicti) just after the winter solstice.
The feast was in honor of a Persian deity of the sun named Mithras. The Romans had also celebrated a feast of Saturnalia, which was a period of jubilation. However, Christians didn't want to celebrate Pagan beliefs such as Mithriasm so the Romans, in an effort to please Pagans and Christians, compromised and settled on a celebration which was held on Dec. 25.
Many people in Western Europe used to celebrate a winter holiday where they often decorated their homes in greenery and candles and exchanged gifts at a huge feast. As the Romans conquered other parts of Europe, local customs were often incorporated into the holiday. Christmas today has its roots in many different traditions throughout the world, which are all blended into one.
Elements of many cultures are represented at Christmas, giving it the popularity it enjoys. Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as a holiday in 1836 and by 1890 all the other states had followed suit. Christmas does seem to be the most popular holiday in the world for people to gather with family and friends and everybody seems to make an effort to be home for Christmas. It is a time of celebration and giving and perhaps the time of the year when people truly show their affection for their fellow man.