In addition to traditional NATIVITY LEGENDS, Christmas has inspired a number of urban legends over the years. An urban legend is a story about some mundane aspect of contemporary life that is usually believed by its teller to be true even though it is, in fact, false.

In Great Britain the long CHRISTMAS SEASON draws to a close with Up Helly Aa, a spectacular fire festival celebrated in Scotland’s Shetland Islands. In the late nineteenth century Shetlanders celebrated the festival on January 29, or “Twenty-Fourth Night” Old Style, the twenty-fourth evening after OLD CHRISTMAS DAY.