The reason why Michael Jackson never celebrated Christmas

2 December 2025, 14:24

Michael brought Christmas joy to millions, but didn't celebrate it himself. Picture: Getty/Motown Records

By Thomas Edward

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He brought joy to millions.

Michael Jackson was undoubtedly the biggest pop star the world had ever seen, and was called 'The King Of Pop' for good reason.

Countless people across all different countries speaking all kinds of languages were massive fans of Michael, purely because of his unbelievable talent which broke barriers.

Michael's music was the gift that kept on giving – and still does to this day.

Having conquered the music industry several times over, throughout the 90s, Michael's music shifted towards being more compassionate about those less fortunate with tracks like 'Earth Song' and 'Heal The World'.

Despite his charitable work and sense of duty to help those in need, Michael Jackson himself never celebrated Christmas.

It must be a surprise for many who thought Michael's magical spirit would go hand-in-hand with the wonder of Christmas. So why didn't he celebrate on 25th December?

The Jackson 5 released a Christmas album, but didn't observe the holiday themselves. Picture: Motown Records

Strangely enough, many people would immediately associate Michael Jackson with Christmas because he actually sang songs about Christmas.

Earlier in his career with The Jackson 5, before he struck out to pursue a solo career, he recorded an entire Christmas album with his brothers for Motown Records.

In 1970, The Jackson 5 released the Jackson 5 Christmas Album, which featured covers of 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' and 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'.

They've become sure-fire festive classics – nowadays, it wouldn't feel like Christmas if you didn't hear Michael's voice beaming over the radio.

It was Motown's decision to get the Jackson brothers to record a Yuletide album, as the majority of their fanbase were thought to have identified as Baptist Christians, so it was made for them.

The Jacksons themselves didn't celebrate Christmas, as they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Official Video)

Michael was with the Jehovah's Witness church well into the 80s when his fame and fortune were rocketing.

Throughout this time, he'd seldom celebrate his birthday as that wasn't allowed by the church.

So despite Michael's link to Christmas, it was a holiday that wasn't a focal point of his annual calendar.

Much to the sadness of his fans, many of them hoped Michael would record a Christmas song later in his career.

There might have been a chance of that, however, as in 1993, Michael did in fact celebrate Christmas Day for the very first time.

Michael's dear friend Elizabeth Taylor ensured he got to celebrate Christmas Day at least once. (Photo by Barry King/WireImage). Picture: Getty

Michael's long-time friend Elizabeth Taylor changed that by hosting a traditional Christmas at his Neverland home.

Hoping he'd love the magic and merriment of Christmas, she transformed his home into a Winter Wonderland.

She literally decked the halls with bows of holly, gorgeous Christmas trees and all sorts of decorations.

Promising to make the day as magical as possible for her best friend, Elizabeth made sure that they documented their time together with a home video.

michael jackson home videos his first christmas and water fight

As the video shows, Michael was overjoyed by Elizabeth's gesture, exclaiming how much he values his friendship with her.

“I’ve met a lot of people in my life and very few are real real real friends, I can probably count them on one hand. Elizabeth is one of the most loyal, loving, caring people that I know,” Michael said.

"She decided to transform Neverland into its first Christmas because I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

He didn't celebrate Christmas until that day, though he took Elizabeth a long time to convince him that he'd love it.

"It is 1993 and this will be Michael Jackson’s very first Christmas," she explained. "It has taken me, I would think about five years of talking him into celebrating Christmas at Neverland.”

When he quit being a Jehovah’s Witness, I said to Michael ‘I think Christmas is a wonderful way of celebrating love,” she continued.

“It’s a celebration of love and I can’t see Christmas without Michael or Michael without Christmas.”

Michael had to wait till he was 35 to celebrate Christmas. (Photo by: Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images). Picture: Getty

Throughout the home video, it's clear that Michael was overjoyed about getting to celebrate a holiday that he was previously forbidden from.

But even after he stopped practising as a Jehovah's Witness, the guilt still affected him.

Reportedly, he was so overwhelmingly happy on the Christmas Day he spent with Elizabeth Taylor that he felt so guilty about it, locking himself in the bathroom whilst he broke down crying.

It just showed the amount of pain he must have suffered as a child, not being able to celebrate a traditional childhood as an American kid due to his faith and his astronomical fame.

Whilst it's incredibly sad, at least he got to experience some of the magic of Christmas, in what was no doubt one of the highlights of his life.