Due to the diverse cultural climate of the United States, it is a country that sees many different ways for people to celebrate Christmas.
Many of the traditions seen practiced in the United States are also commonly observed in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and Poland.
Traditionally, most families in Western Europe will celebrate Christmas with a meal of ham or turkey, served with cranberry sauce.
Their Eastern European neighbors tend to choose turkey, keilbasi sausage, soup, and cabbages. Often, families from Italy will celebrate with a traditional lasagne dinner.
In the United States, people will trim their Christmas tree with stringed popcorn.
Another popular activity that brings people together and provides a tasty treat at the same time is making gingerbread houses.
Most Americans choose to celebrate Christmas by attending a church service.
Many churches will have special services and ceremonies on Christmas day which people can attend to celebrate the holiday.
At these events, the church takes a special time to tell the story of the first Christmas to remind churchgoers of the true meaning of Christmas.
In the Northeast United States, you can actually find many Christmas Shops. These shops sell Christmas decorations, attire, toys and snacks all year round, no matter the season.
Celebrations and Decorations in the United States
Another popular tradition in America is sending Christmas cards, which include a photo of the sender’s family as a way to wish their friends and family a happy holiday.
Other traditions include going house to house singing Christmas carols (called caroling) and another unusual tradition called the Christmas pickle!
Americans adorn their homes with string lights during the Christmas season and will decorate with lights, candles, figurines of Santa, and wreaths.
On Christmas Eve, American families traditionally leave out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa Claus to eat when he visits their home.
Often, entire towns will participate in the outdoor decorations, stringing lights across town squares, city halls, and outdoor shopping centers.
Perhaps the most notorious of them all is Rockefeller Center in New York City, where there is an annual tradition of lighting an enormous Christmas tree complete with a large ice skating rink below it for visitors to skate during the holiday season.
Santa Claus goes by many names in various places throughout the world and even in the United States. For example, Hawaiians refer to Santa as Kanakaloka!
Mumming
Another tradition that occasionally accompanies Christmas celebrations is Mumming. The city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania even has a Mummer’s parade that lasts all day on New Year’s Day.
People spend months preparing costumes and makeup for these celebrations so many people come out to watch the incredible outfits be judges in four categories: String Bands, Fancies, Fancy Brigades, and Comics.
To learn more, visit the official web page at www.phillymummers.com.
In the Southwestern United States, you’re likely to find traditions that are similar to those observed in Mexico.
Many people will create farolitos or luminarias to line the walkway up to the front door of their homemade using paper bags filled with sand and a lit candle, these are meant to symbolically light the way to provide Mary and Joseph with a place to stay.
One of the most widely used foods in Southwestern American Christmas celebrations is tamales.
To learn more about tamales and about Southwestern U.S. Christmas celebrations, visit the web page at www.lonestarwesterndecor.com/vibrant-christmas-traditions-of-the-southwest.html.
Mississippi River
In Southern Louisiana, many families can be found spending their Christmas Eve on the banks of the Mississippi river building big fires to light the way for Santa (known in Louisiana as Papa Noel due to Louisiana’s historical ties to France) in order to help him find his way to their homes to bring gifts to all the children.
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Main Points About Christmas in the United States of America
- Baking cookies, gingerbread man and house, and eggnog is a very common tradition in the USA.
- Christmas decorations in the USA are very elaborate both on the interior and exterior. There is caroling, and some Christians may choose to go to church to celebrate Christmas.
- The most elaborate Christmas decoration is found at the Rockefeller Centre in New York City. There are a huge Christmas tree and a public ice-skating rink.
- There is a lot of shopping going on during the Christmas season and it very common to find Christmas parties in different parts of the country.
- Christmas meal in the USA is very elaborate, with assorted dishes on the menu.
Conclusion
The United States has a huge population of Christians. The celebrations for Christmas are special in every single way. You can easily see markets flooded with products targetted towards Christmas shopping to the point that shops sell the most products during Xmas.
If you have been to the United States of America on Christmas or stay in the United States of America then do share your first-hand experience in the comments below.
Word Cloud for Christmas in the United States of America
The following is a collection of the most used terms in this article on Christmas in the United States of America. This should help in recalling related terms as used in this article at a later stage for you.
- https://uk.usembassy.gov/americans-celebrate-christmas-with-many-traditions/
- https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-history-of-chrismas-in-america/4174019.html
- https://www.christmas-day.org/christmas-in-america.html
Last Updated : 24 November, 2023
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
It’s interesting to see the diverse Christmas traditions practiced in various regions of the United States.
The Christmas traditions in the US exhibit a rich tapestry of cultural influences from around the world.
The variety of Christmas traditions across the US truly reflects the multicultural nature of the country.
While the US is a diverse country with various Christmas traditions, it’s fascinating to see how cultural influences have shaped the way Christmas is celebrated.
How fascinating to learn about the different Christmas traditions across the US and how they are influenced by other cultures!
It’s amazing how the US has such a variety of traditions and celebrations during Christmas.
The extent of Christmas traditions in the US reflects the cultural diversity and openness in the country.
I’ve always been intrigued by the Christmas traditions in different parts of the US.
I never realized the extent of the different Christmas traditions across the United States. It’s quite intriguing!
The fusion of Christmas traditions across different regions of the US is an interesting display of cultural diversity.