Short answers, pulled from the story.
The evening before Christmas has long been a time of spiritual preparation in Western Christianity, rooted in the ancient belief that days begin at sunset. This practice traces back to Jewish tradition and the opening lines of Genesis: And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day.
In 2009, Vatican officials set the Midnight Mass for 10 pm so Pope Benedict XVI would not stay up too late. Some churches have moved the start time earlier, scheduling Midnight Mass as early as 7 pm to accommodate young children whose choral singing has become popular.
In Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland, presents are traditionally exchanged on the evening of the 24th of December. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, the Faroe Islands, France, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Quebec French Canada, Romania, Uruguay, Slovenia, and Switzerland open presents mostly on the evening of the 24th following German tradition.
In Bulgaria, the meal consists of an odd number of lenten dishes in compliance with fasting rules. They include sarma, bob chorba bean soup, fortune kravai pastry with a fortune inside, stuffed peppers, nuts, dried fruit, and boiled wheat.
The truce began on Christmas Eve the 24th of December 1914 when German troops decorated trenches near Ypres Belgium with candles on trees. The truce happened despite opposition from higher military command levels and earlier Pope Benedict XV had called for an official truce ignored by warring governments.