Just for the sake of pedantry Die Hard was an adaptation of Nothing Lasts Forever a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp and is set on Christmas eve.
It was a sequel to Thorpe's 1966 novel The Detective, the film version of which starred Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was offered the lead in Die Hard but turned it down.
Ten other big name actors tuned down the film until Bruce Willis was offered the part. Willis insisted on a complete rewrite so as not to be compared to Frank, changing the name of the lead character and de-aging him by thirty odd years.