It could well be the most convenient day on which to be born – it comes with a guaranteed birthday atmosphere, gifts by default, good telly, loads of booze and plenty of jollity.
But, of course, it could also be used by stingy loved ones as an excuse to halve your annual allowance of presents.
It’s also a tad lonely – December 25 is the rarest birthday (other than February 29), despite being perhaps the world’s most famous day.
For all that, however, it’s still a day that has given us some extremely important people from across the full spectrum of human endeavour.
Isaac Newton, one of the most important scientists to have ever lived, was born on Christmas Day – and so too Humphrey Bogart, one of cinema’s most iconic stars.
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was also ushered into the world on December 25 – on the very same day as English singer Dido.
On the special day in 1957, meanwhile, Shane MacGowan – co-writer of Fairytale of New York, quite possibly the most-loved Christmas song of all time – sucked in his first breath.
In the sport world, the day gave us former England cricket captain Alastair Cook and much-loved ex-footballer and commentator Chris Kamara.
Below are some more remarkable individuals born on the remarkable day.
Isaac Newton (left), one of the most important scientists to have ever lived, was born on Christmas Day – and so too Humphrey Bogart (right), one of cinema’s most iconic stars
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was also ushered into the world on December 25. he was born in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, while his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was prime minister
In the sport world, the day gave us former England cricket captain Alastair Cook (right) and much-loved ex-footballer and commentator Chris Kamara (left)
On the special day in 1957, meanwhile, Shane MacGowan – co-writer of Fairytale of New York, quite possibly the most-loved Christmas song of all time – sucked in his first breath
Left: Jairzinho, one of the stars of the victorious Brazil team of the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico, was born on Jesus’s birthday. Right: DJ Kenny Everett, also born on December 25
Noel Redding, the bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was born on December 25, 1945, both a momentous day and a momentous year
Left: Anwar Sadat, Egypt’s third president – ruling from 1970 until he was murdered in 1981 – was born on Christmas Day in 1918. Right: The writer Quentin Crisp, who was born in 1908
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was born on Christmas Day in 1876. Right: Mohandas Gandhi, a leader in India’s independence movement, who was not born on Christmas Day
Left: Scottish singer Annie Lennox, who was born on Christmas Day in 1954. Right: Star Trek producer Rick Berman, who was born in 1945
English singer Dido – born Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong – came into the world on Christmas Day in Kensington in 1971
Left: Dorothy Wordsworth, who was born in 1771, was a writer during the Romantic period. Right: Carlos Castaneda, an American author born in Peru on Christmas Day
American jazz singer Cab Calloway was born in Rochester, New York in 1907. He became famous as a bandleader and feature at the Cotton Club in Harlem
Left: Pope Pius VI was born in Italy on December 25, most conveniently for him. Right: Former Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Davey was born on Christmas Day in 1965
The Christmas of 1950 gave the world Karl Rove (left), the man widely credited for helping George W Bush (right) to the White House
Actress Sissy Spacek, who stunned the world with her terrifying performance in Carrie, was born in 1949 on Christmas Day