Christmas is celebrated in America in a variety of ways.
The majority of Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th, which honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Like many other peoples, Americans have created their own Christmas customs and celebrations, which have evolved significantly throughout time.
Most Americans today combine rituals, cuisine, and decorations from homes they or their ancestors formerly occupied with religious and secular practices specific to their own families. Christmas dinner favorites across the nation include roast turkey and ham, but regional variations can include tamales, crawfish jambalaya, roast goose with red cabbage, roast pork, or seafood salad made with “seven fishes.”
Luminarias, lanterns created from brown paper bags that are lit on Christmas Eve and weighted down with sand, are a common sight in the Southwest. Las Posadas, a procession that reenacts Mary and Joseph’s quest for a place to sleep in Bethlehem, are celebrated by many Mexican Americans. Swedish Americans celebrate St. Lucia festivities, while Puerto Ricans participate in parrandas, where friends sing traditional melodies while going from home to house, “waking” their friends with their music.
The federal courts have maintained Christmas’s status as a legal holiday, despite the fact that it is a religious holiday for many Americans. One judge reasoned that “the government is doing no more than recognizing the fact that federal employees are entitled to a paid vacation day on Christmas.”
The evolution of American Christmas
Festive Christmas celebrations were frowned upon by the early Puritans of New England. While the Massachusetts colonists momentarily outlawed celebrating the day in 1659, Christmas was nevertheless observed as a regular weekday throughout most of New England and Pennsylvania. On the other hand, other regions of British North America celebrated with great fervor, as dressed celebrants went door to door and were given little presents of food and drink.
The 19th century saw the emergence of the contemporary, commercialized Christmas, along with the new tradition of buying gifts for small children. “Christmas shopping” during the season started to have economic significance.
Similar to this, other Christmas customs date back to the 19th century. Originating from the German Saint Nicholas and the Dutch Sinter Klaas, Santa Claus took on the persona of a cheerful gift-giver and driver of a reindeer-drawn sleigh.
The Christmas tree tradition is said to have originated in Germany in the sixteenth century. Legend has it that the Protestant reformer Martin Luther lit candles in a tree to teach his kids about the beauty of creation. In the 19th century, Christmas trees gained popularity in both Britain and the US. These days, a lot of Americans buy a brand-new evergreen tree or a reusable replica made of plastic and aluminum, then deck it up with lights and ornaments. Some families place Christmas gifts beneath the tree on Christmas morning; these gifts may be placed there by family members or, in the case of small children, by Santa Claus himself, who delivers the gifts after descending the chimney with his sleigh and reindeer.
Christmas cards that were mass-produced first appeared in the final part of the 1800s. These days, they could show scenes from religion or secular, frequently comedic, themes. Despite the growing popularity of electronically transmitted “e-cards” on the Internet, 16.6 billion Christmas cards, letters, and packages will be mailed by Americans during the holiday season.
TEMPORARY DISCOVERIES
Christmas has developed into a “season” of its own as some retailers view Christmas shopping as extremely crucial. “Black Friday” is the term used to describe the Thursday following Thanksgiving, which falls on November 4. It’s a big shopping day that drives some firms into the black, or profitability, and can contribute significantly to yearly revenues.
However, there is much more to this prolonged Christmas season than just shopping. For a lot of Americans, it’s a time for giving back to the community and volunteering.
Regarding holiday entertainment, there are numerous Nutcracker ballet productions by Tchaikovsky, school holiday pageants, and carol singers everywhere. Adults watch beloved television shows like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1945), while kids (and their nostalgic parents) watch beloved cartoon shows like A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). A lot of radio stations change their programming to include holiday music. Because so many deserving candidates for the Academy Awards, or “Oscars,” are released in December, the Christmas movie season is frequently referred to as “Oscar season.”
For many, though, the primary significance of the holiday is still rooted in its original religious connotations. Some churches build manger scenes, which are miniature representations of the stable where Jesus is said to have been born, complete with miniatures of the baby Jesus and the others who were there. Christmas Eve candlelight or midnight services are held in several churches. A portrayal of Jesus’ birth or a Mass of the Nativity are two examples.
Christmas in the United States represents the ideals of a free and diverse people, just like so many other facets of American culture do.
