The Harry Potter Compendium
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Christmas is a primarily Christian holiday celebrated on the 25 December in most countries (including the United Kingdom). The holiday ostensibly celebrates the birth of the Christian savior, Jesus of Nazareth, though many in other religions or who possess a secular disposition nevertheless celebrate the holiday. The most famous tradition of Christmas is that Father Christmas flies around the world on a reindeer-pulled sleigh to deliver presents to all the good children of the world.

Students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry go on a few weeks' holidays for the Christmas season -- though some students (such as Harry Potter,) choose to stay at Hogwarts. It is not known what religious connotations the holiday has to the Wizarding world. Christmas is often marked by a feast of some type. Eggnog is often served on or around Christmas-time.

Hogwarts celebrations[]

For Christmas at Hogwarts, the Great Hall is decorated with twelve towering Christmas trees, festoons of holly, mistletoe, and other Christmas-oriented accents. In addition to this, the school has been known to be decorated with real live fairies, which fly around the trees; everlasting icicles which are applied to the banisters of the Grand Staircase; and warm, dry snow which falls from the Enchanted Ceiling of the Great Hall. Also, the suits of armor around Hogwarts are known to have been charmed to sing carols.

Christmas holidays[]

Main article: Christmas holidays

The students can choose to stay at Hogwarts Castle or return home for the holidays, which begin shortly before Christmas Day and end sometime after New Year's Day. A Professor generally goes among the students making a list of those who want to stay for the winter holidays. A notable occasion upon which a majority of students stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas was in 1994, when Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball held on Christmas Day. On Harry Potter's first Christmas at Hogwarts, it had been by far the best Christmas he had ever had.

Christmas presents[]

These are the presents that some people were known to have received:

Between 1985 and 1990[]

1991[]

1992[]

1993[]

1994[]

1995[]

1996[]

Appearances[]

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