Today Is December 24

Today is Christmas Eve. Christmas celebrations in the denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on the night of the 24th, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset. The practice of celebrating the evening before Christmas Day is an echo from ancient Jewish reckoning. Among earlier Jews, a day began at six in the evening and ran until six the following evening, based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day".

The practice of celebrating the evening before Christmas Day is an echo from ancient Jewish reckoning. Among earlier Jews, a day began at six in the evening and ran until six the following evening, based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day." Christmas Eve was then celebrated with roaring fires, story-telling, feasting, drinking and dancing.

On Christmas Eve at 3pm, it's a tradition for the people of Sweden to sit down to watch From All Of Us To All Of You, the 1958 Walt Disney Christmas special. It's a collection of classic Disney cartoons introduced by Jiminy Cricket and nearly half the Swedes watch it.