Screenshot of interactive map from Huffington Post.
Christmas means many things to many people. Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, while for others, the holiday season is about Santa Claus, presents and caroling. (And for yet another group, Christmas is about a day of watching basketball.)
But whatever Christmas means to you, chances are you aren’t alone. Last year, the Pew Research’s religion and public life project outlined the ways Americans celebrate Christmas. Some highlights from the study include:
- The fact that, in 2013, 90 percent of American adults said they celebrated Christmas, and 86 percent of American adults said they intended to gather with family or friends on Christmas Day.
- More than half – 51 percent – of American adults say Christmas is a religious celebration, while 32 percent say it’s a cultural event.
- Sixty-nine percent of American adults attend religious services on Christmas Eve of Christmas Day.
This interactive map from Huffington Post Religion follows the journeys of the Holy Family. Click the arrows in the right-hand side story boxes or on points marked on the map to be zoomed in to various locations in Jesus’ early life, from Zechariah’s visit by the Archangel Gabriel to the appearance of an angel to Joseph described in Mat 2:19-23, telling him to take his family back to Nazareth.