Many fictional Christmas stories capture the spirit of Christmas in a modern-day fairy tale, often with heart-touching stories of a Christmas miracle. Several have become part of the traditions in their countries of origin.

Among the most popular are Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. The Nutcracker tells of a nutcracker that comes to life in a young German girl's dream. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge rejects compassion, philanthropy, and Christmas until he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who show him the consequences of his ways.

Some Scandinavian Christmas stories are less cheery than Dickens's. In H. C. Andersen's The Little Match Girl, a destitute little girl walks barefoot through snow-covered streets on New Years Eve, trying in vain to sell her matches, and peeking in at the celebrations in the homes of the more fortunate.

In 1881, the Swedish magazine Ny Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten featuring the first painting by Jenny Nyström of the traditional Swedish mythical character tomte, which she turned into the friendly white-bearded figure and associated with Christmas.

Many Christmas stories have been popularized as movies and TV specials. Since the 1980s, many video editions are sold and resold every year during the holiday season. A notable example is the film It's a Wonderful Life, which turns the theme of A Christmas Carol on its head. Its hero, George Bailey, is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On Christmas Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide by magically showing him how much he meant to the world around him. The 1964 stop-motion version of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, narrated by Burl Ives, became an annual holiday tradition on US television after its first telecast. Perhaps the most famous US animated television production is the 1965 production A Charlie Brown Christmas, wherein Charlie Brown tries to address his feelings of dissatisfaction with the holidays by trying to find a deeper meaning in them. This special is noted for one character's retelling of the first Christmas. But its popularity in the USA is rivaled by the 1966 animated version of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, narrated by horror film star Boris Karloff. The humorous A Christmas Story (1983) in which the main character dreams of owning a Red Ryder BB Gun, has slowly become a holiday classic in the USA after receiving indifferent reviews, and is even repeated for 24 hours straight starting on Christmas Eve night and going on through Christmas Day on US cable channel Turner Network Television or TBS.

On British Television it has become traditional for Channel 4 to show the animated film of Raymond Briggs's The Snowman.

A few true stories have also become enduring Christmas tales themselves. The famous newspaper editorial, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus is among the most well-known of these.

Radio and television programs aggressively pursue entertainment and ratings through their cultivation of Christmas themes. Radio stations broadcast carols and Christmas songs, including classical music such as the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. Among other classical pieces inspired by Christmas are the Nutcracker Suite, adapted from Tchaikovsky's ballet score, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Television networks add Christmas themes to their standard programming, run traditional holiday movies, and produce a variety of Christmas specials.

In Britain, it has always been a big occasion about finding out the Official Chart number 1 for over the Christmas period. For the months before Christmas, speculation surrounds this event with many artists releasing albums or songs to have a chance at getting that priceless title of 'Christmas *year* Official Number One'. It is so huge, that bets are taken on the lucky song.

Another important tradition in Britain and in other countries in the Commonwealth Realm, is the Royal Christmas Message which is delivered by Queen Elizabeth II at 3 pm (15:00 GMT) on Christmas day. The 2006 Christmas message was watched by 68% of the British residents.