Christmas
Christmas was a traditional holiday celebrated by many humans on Earth.
History
Although he was an alien, the Doctor developed a fondness and appreciation for Christmas. Christmas celebrations existed as far away in time and place as the planet Puxatornee in the year 3090. (BFA: Flip-Flop) Even the usually serious Sara Kingdom from the year 4000 celebrated the holiday with the First Doctor. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan)
The Ninth Doctor, perhaps joking, claimed to have left Rose Tyler a red bicycle for Christmas many years before (from her perspective) they first met. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
Christmas commemorated the birth of Earth religious leader Jesus Christ. Although the actual date of his birth was not 25 December, the Christmas celebration evolved over the millennia from a combination of other celebrations. Jesus was said to have been born in a barn or shed because an inn had no room for his family. The Tenth Doctor once claimed it was he who got the last room at the inn. (DW: Voyage of the Damned)
Christmas activities in Britain included pantomimes. At a UNIT Christmas party, the Third Doctor, Jo Grant and others put on a production of Aladdin. (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation, No Future)
The figure of Father Christmas (also known as Santa Claus, Pere Noel etc), a man who delivers presents to young children, became a key part of Christmas. He might (TVC: A Christmas Story) have actually existed.
Earth -- and, specifically the vicinity of London -- experienced major events involving aliens at or around Christmas Day in the early 21st century. In 2006, Christmas coincided with the arrival of the Guinevere One space probe at Mars. This celebration was disrupted by the Sycorax invasion. This event was later cited by the Tenth Doctor as the moment the people of Earth were irrevocably introduced to the idea of alien life after years of isolated and covered-up incidents (DW: The Christmas Invasion). In 2007, the arrival of the Webstar over London panicked the populace. (DW: The Runaway Bride). For Christmas 2008, the populace of London (except a few holdouts such as Queen Elizabeth II and Wilfred Mott) voluntarily evacuated the city in anticipation of another alien invasion. No invasion occurred, but a spaceship replica of The Titanic nearly crashed into Buckingham Palace. (DW: Voyage of the Damned). The Master's attempt to create the Master Race as well the Time Lords' return took place around Christmas. (DW: The End of Time)
Other incidents that took place at Christmas have included the Cybermen invasion of Christmas 1851 (DW: The Next Doctor) and an attempt by the Gelth to come through the Cardiff Rift on Christmas Eve 1869 (DW: The Unquiet Dead). Both were thwarted by the Doctor. Apparently some incident occurred in San Francisco at Christmas in the year 2000, but the details are not known. (DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie)
In many Earth cultures, the "Christmas season" or "Holiday season" usually continued until the turning of the new year, which occurred six days later. Several events of note occurred on December 31, 1999, otherwise known as New Year's Eve, including the Eighth Doctor thwarting an attempt by the Master to steal his remaining regenerations soon after the Doctor had himself regenerated (DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie); and the staff of Torchwood 3 being murdered, leaving Jack Harkness in charge (TW: Fragments). This last event occurred when the Torchwood Hub had Christmas decorations on display.
When the human race colonised other worlds, Christmas came with them. On the planet where Sardicktown was located, he first settlers there referred to it as 'The Crystal Feast'. (DW: A Christmas Carol)
Alternate timeline
In the alternate timeline experienced by Donna Noble due to the manipulations of the Trickster's Brigade, the Tenth Doctor died during the incident with the Webstar at Christmas 2007. The Titanic replica crashed into London at Christmas 2008, destroying the city and flooding most of southern England with radiation, sparking a chain of events leading to the country becoming a police state. This timeline was subsequently negated. (DW: Turn Left)
See also
