Christmas is celebrated on December 25th each year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a religious and cultural holiday celebrated by billions around the world. While the exact date of Jesus' birth is unknown, by the 4th century the Western Christian Church had set the date as December 25th, a tradition that later spread East. Today most Christians celebrate on this Gregorian calendar date, though some Eastern churches use the older Julian calendar which falls on January 7th. The winter solstice and Roman pagan festivals held around the same time may have influenced the early Church's choice of December 25th for Christmas.