Christmas symbols
Christmas Emojis and Symbols
Tap ๐ ๐ ๐ โญ to copy, or search santa, tree or snowflake. Click or tap to copy any of 88 Christmas emojis and symbols: Santa and his helpers, the tree and presents, snow and winter, cookies and treats, the Nativity, one-color text symbols like โ โ โ, and Merry Christmas in fancy letters. Each one shows its name.
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What the symbols of Christmas mean
There's no official list of Christmas symbols. Some come from the Bible's account of Jesus' birth, and others from customs that grew up around the holiday. These are the ones the emoji above stand for.
| Symbol | Name | What it stands for |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ | Christmas tree | A decorated evergreen. The custom is generally traced to Germany in the 1500s; German settlers in Pennsylvania put trees on display in the 1830s. |
| โญ ๐ | Star | In the Gospel of Matthew, the wise men follow a star until it stops over the place where the child Jesus is. |
| ๐ผ | Angel | In the Gospel of Luke, an angel announces Jesus' birth to shepherds watching their flock at night. |
| ๐ถ ๐ | Baby in a manger, sheep | Luke says Mary laid the baby in a manger because there was no room at the inn. |
| ๐ | Gifts | Matthew says the wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. |
| ๐ | Santa Claus | A blend of traditions, including England's Father Christmas and Germany's Kris Kringle. The name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, Saint Nicholas. |
| ๐ฆ ๐ท | Reindeer and sleigh | The 1823 poem โA Visit from St. Nicholasโ brings St. Nicholas in a miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer. |
| ๐งฆ | Stockings | From the same poem's opening lines: โThe stockings were hung by the chimney with care, / In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.โ |
How to get Christmas emojis on your phone or computer
Copying from this page works on any device. To type them yourself, open your device's emoji picker.
- iPhone and iPad: in any text field, tap the emoji or globe key, then type a word like Christmas or Santa in the Search Emoji field.
- Android with Gboard: tap where you type, tap the emoji icon on the keyboard, then tap the emoji you want. Tap ABC to go back to letters.
- Windows 10 or 11: press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji panel, then type a word like tree or gift.
- Mac: press Control + Command + Space, or Fn/Globe + E, to open the Character Viewer, then search for a word like snowman.
Text symbols vs. Christmas emoji
โ and โ in the one-color group are text characters that take the color of the text around them. โ๏ธ and โ๏ธ are the same characters followed by an invisible variation selector (U+FE0F), which asks the device to draw a color emoji.
Use the text form in usernames, cards and documents, and the emoji form in texts and social posts. Not every app follows the selector, so a text symbol can still show in color on some phones.
Christmas things that don't have an emoji
Unicode's current emoji list, Emoji 18.0, has no emoji for a candy cane, a wreath, mistletoe, holly, a poinsettia or a gingerbread man. That could change in a future version.
Until then, you can use ๐ฌ or ๐ญ in place of a candy cane, ๐ or ๐ฒ for a wreath, and ๐ช for a gingerbread cookie.
Sources and standards
- Unicode โ Emoji test data (emoji-test.txt)
- Unicode โ Character names (UnicodeData.txt)
- Unicode โ Unicode 6.0.0
- Unicode โ Miscellaneous Symbols code chart (U+2600โU+26FF)
- Unicode โ Dingbats code chart (U+2700โU+27BF)
- Unicode โ Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols code chart (U+1D400โU+1D7FF)
- Library of Congress โ Oh Christmas tree, how much tax do I owe for thee?
- Library of Congress โ Old Saint Nick: Santa Claus in 19th Century American Print
- Library of Congress โ A Visit from SantaโฆWho You Might Not Recognize
- Library of Congress โ Highlighting the Holidays: A Visit From St. Nick
- Vatican โ New American Bible, Matthew 2
- Vatican โ New American Bible, Luke 2
- Apple โ Use emoji on your iPhone and iPad
- Google โ Use your keyboard (Gboard on Android)
- Microsoft โ Windows keyboard tips and tricks
- Apple โ Use emoji and symbols on Mac
- Apple โ Mac keyboard shortcuts
Frequently asked questions
What are the 12 symbols of Christmas?
There's no official list of 12, so different lists name different things. The emoji on this page cover the tree ๐, star โญ, angel ๐ผ, bell ๐, candle ๐ฏ๏ธ, gifts ๐, Santa ๐ , reindeer ๐ฆ, stockings ๐งฆ and the Nativity ๐ถ. Candy canes and wreaths have no emoji.
How do I get Christmas emojis on my phone?
On an iPhone, tap the emoji key and type Christmas in the Search Emoji field. On Android with Gboard, tap the emoji icon on the keyboard and pick one. Or tap any emoji on this page to copy it, then paste it.
Is there a Christmas tree emoji?
Yes: ๐, named CHRISTMAS TREE, code point U+1F384. It was added in Unicode 6.0 in 2010.
What emoji is ๐?
It's the wrapped gift emoji (U+1F381), a present with a bow. It works for Christmas presents, birthdays or any gift.
Is there a candy cane emoji?
No. Unicode's emoji list (Emoji 18.0) has no candy cane. ๐ฌ candy and ๐ญ lollipop are the closest stand-ins.
What is the Father Christmas emoji?
Copy ๐ . Its Unicode character name is FATHER CHRISTMAS (U+1F385); its emoji name is Santa Claus. Father Christmas, England's Christmas gift-bringer, is one of the traditions behind Santa Claus.