Christmas Day 2012 falls on Tuesday, 25 December 2012.

Traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas in many countries is now also a celebration of the secular part of the holiday, with lots of shopping, entertainment, Christmas lights, and Santa showing up in full furs despite the fact that some are smack in the middle of the tropics.

In Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, and other Asia metropolitan cities, streets and shopping malls are lit up with stunning electric light displays that blaze through the cities prime shopping and entertainment districts every Christmas season. This, combined with the late mall hours put in place during Christmas season, make nighttime shopping in way more fun for shoppers.

Some churches are trying to guide Christmas day celebrations back to the religious spectrum, and you can’t fault them for trying, but for many, the whole point of Christmas is shopping, with malls doing their darndest to entice shoppers into their doors as Christmas time approaches.