Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. It refers to both the day commemorating the birth; and also the Christmastide season which that day inaugurates; concluding with the Feast of the Epiphany. The date of the celebration is traditional; and is not considered to be Jesus's actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the observation of the Nativity with various cultural customs; many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" is a Christmas song. Its authorship is often credited to Wilf Carter. However, since the song is mentioned in earlier works (such as Susan Gregg's Christmas Orphans, pub. 1916), this attribution is unlikely. The song has also been credited to Benjamin Hanby, author of "Up on the House Top", at some point in the 1860s, although this too may be in dispute.Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. It refers to both the day commemorating the birth; and also the Christmastide season which that day inaugurates; concluding with the Feast of the Epiphany. The date of the celebration is traditional; and is not considered to be.