# christmas (holiday)

a holiday that occurs on a date in the last month of the year when people gather and give gifts

- Computed level: L19 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: holiday  ·  Arena: christmas

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [holiday](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-holiday.leisure), [december](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-december.date), [gift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-gift.present), [date](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-date.social), [give](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-give.transfer), [occurs](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-occurs.event), [people](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-people.social), [last](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-last.order), [month](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-month.temporal), [year](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-year.time)

**Through:** the components combine to form a recurring seasonal observance centered on social gathering and gift exchange during the final month of the annual cycle

**Novel properties:**
- seasonal recurrence in December
- coordinated gift exchange
- cultural emphasis on year-end celebration

## Examples
- In 2023, millions gathered at Rockefeller Center in New York City to light the Christmas tree on December 4. *(event)*
- The Salvation Army deployed 25,000 bell ringers across the U.S. in December 2022 to collect gifts for Christmas charity drives. *(institution)*
- Amazon reported delivering over 1.5 billion gifts worldwide in the week before Christmas 2021. *(economics)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-christmas.holiday*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-christmas.holiday.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*