Christmas is a joyful religious holiday when Christians celebrate
the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas story comes from the Bible.
An angel appeared to shepherds and told them that a Savior had been
born to Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem. Three Wise Men from
the East (the Magi) followed a wondrous star which led them to the
baby Jesus to whom they paid homage and presented gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh.
To people all over the world, Christmas is a season of giving and
receiving presents. In some European countries, Father Christmas, or
Saint Nicholas, comes into houses in the night and leaves gifts for
the children. Saint Nicholas is represented as a kindly man with a red
cloak and long white beard. Another character, the Norse God Odin,
rode on a magical flying horse across the sky in the winter to reward
people with gifts. These different legends passed across the ages to
make the presentday Santa Claus.
Immigrant settlers brought Father Christmas to the United States.
Father Christmas' name was gradually changed to Santa Claus, from the
Dutch name for Father Christmas, which is Sinter Claas. Although he
has origins in Norse and pre-Christian mythology, Santa Claus took
shape in the United States. Americans gave Santa Claus a white beard,
dressed him in a red suit and made him a cheery old gentleman with red
cheeks and a twinkle in his eye.
Most children believe that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. All
year he lists the names of children, both those who have been good and
those who have been bad. He decides what presents to give to the good
children. He oversees the manufacturing and wrapping of the presents
by his helpers.
Santa Claus supposedly gets his list of toys from the millions of
children who write to him at the North Pole. Children also find Santa
Claus at shopping malls across the country. They sit on his lap and
tell him what they want for Christmas. Of course, their parents are
probably nearby listening in as well.
On December 24, Christmas Eve, Santa hitches his eight reindeer to
a sleigh and loads it with presents. The reindeer pull him and his
sleigh through the sky to deliver presents to children all around the
world, that is, if they had been good all year.
Several American towns maintain the spirit of Santa Claus. The New
England state of Connecticut has a Christmas village where "Santa" and
his elves give out gifts. In New York, a small town called the North
Pole was designed for Santa Claus. There is a post office, a church
and a blacksmith shop, to repair the shoes of the reindeer.
Santa Claus exists only in our imaginations. But he, Saint
Nicholas, and Father Christmas are spirits of giving. Christmas has
been associated with gift giving since the Wise Men brought gifts to
welcome the newborn Jesus Christ.
In anticipation of Santa's visit, American children listen to their
parents read "The Night Before Christmas" before they go to bed on
Christmas Eve. Clement Moore wrote the poem in 1823.
Christmas Cards
Another important custom of Christmas is to send and receive
Christmas cards, which are meant to help express the sentiment of the
season. Some are religious in nature; others are more secular.
Americans begin sending Christmas cards early in December to friends,
acquaintances, and co-workers. The post office advises customers to
mail early in the season and avoid the Christmas rush. Some people
heed the advice; others wait until the last minute and then are upset
when their loved ones have not received the greeting card or the
present which they sent.
It seems that nearly every family has its own unique Christmas
observances. Many people are especially proud of Christmas traditions
brought to the United States from their countries of origin. The
wonderful diversity of foods, music and songs, prayers and stories all
make Christmas the holiday of holidays in the United States.
One custom in Texas and other parts of the American Southwest
warmly welcomes Christmas visitors. People cut designs out of the
sides of paper bags. Then they put enough sand in the bottom of the
bag to hold a candle. They line their walkways with the bags, and
light the candles after dark. Guests can easily find their friend's
walkway and follow the candles up to the door.
In San Antonio, these "luminaries" are placed all along the River
Walk, a paved walkway alongside the San Antonio River, and an old
custom called "Las Posadas" is acted out.
"Las Posadas" represents the journey that Mary and Joseph took from
Nazareth to Jerusalem on a winter night 2000 years ago. Mary was about
to give birth to Jesus on their way to be counted in the census. The
inns were full and the only place they could find to rest was a barn.
Jesus was born there and was placed in a manger, or wooden bin for
feeding animals.
Two young people are chosen to play the roles of Mary and Joseph.
They follow the luminaries up to a house and knock on the door. Joseph
asks the owner if they can stay there for the night. The owner refuses
to let them in, because the house is full. They knock at several more
houses until finally someone lets them come in to stay the night. The
house where the couple is invited was chosen before the celebration,
and has a doll in a manger, representing Jesus. When the couple
arrives at the house, they and the people who have followed sing
Christmas carols and eat the food provided by the "innkeeper."
Home for the Holidays
Going home for Christmas is a most cherished tradition of the
holiday season. No matter where you may be the rest of the year, being
at "home" with your family and friends for Christmas is "a must." The
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the busiest times of the year
at airports, train stations and bus depots. It seems that all America
is on the move and Americans are on their way to spend the holidays
with their loved ones.
This means that the house will be full of cousins, aunts and uncles
that might not see each other during the year. Everyone joins in to
help in the preparation of the festivities. Some family members go to
choose a Christmas tree to buy and bring home. Others decorate the
house or wrap presents. And of course, each household needs to make
lots of food!
On Christmas Eve, there are evening church services. Attention is
focused on the nativity scene, while all join in singing carols. On
Christmas Day, there are other religious ceremonies at churches which
families attend before they make their rounds to visit friends and
relatives.
The Christmas table looks much like a Thanksgiving feast of turkey
or ham, potatoes and pie. No Christmas is complete without lots of
desserts, and nothing symbolizes Christmas more than baked breads and
cookies hot from the oven. Many American traditional desserts, like
other Christmas customs, were started long ago in other parts of the
world. Guests bring English fruit cake or plum pudding as presents to
their hosts. "Crostoli," a fried bread spiced with orange peel, is
made in Italian-American communities. As an ending for the Christmas
banquet, Americans of German background eat "Pfeffernuesse," a bread
full of sweet spices. Doughnuts are a holiday offering in many
Ukrainian-American homes. Norwegian "Berlinerkranser" is a
wreath-shaped cookie, dozens are made, but few are left by Christmas
morning! Candy doesn't remain for long, either, during the holiday
weeks. Hard candies such as peppermint candy canes and curly green and
red ribbon candy are traditional gifts and goodies.
At Christmas Eve gatherings adults drink eggnog, a drink made of
cream, milk, sugar, beaten eggs and brandy or rum. Plenty of eggnog or
hot cocoa is on hand in colder climates for carolers, or people who go
from house to house to sing Christmas carols to their neighbors.
Long ago, each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace.
Santa entered down the chimney and left candy and presents inside the
socks for the children. Today the tradition is carried on, but the
socks are now large red sock-shaped fabric bags still called
stockings. Each child can't wait to open his or her eyes to see what
Santa has left in the stocking.
Giving gifts is a Christmas tradition. However, in recent years,
more and more people have complained that Christmas is too
commercialized especially in large cities. Store owners begin
advertising and decorating very early in hopes of selling more goods.
Children demand more and more from Santa Claus because manufacturers
and retailers saturate television with advertising. Some people
believe that the origin of Christmas has been lost. Commemorating the
birth of Jesus Christ is the very reason for Christmas and should be
central to the celebration.
Every year human interest newspaper articles remind readers of the
origin of Christmas. Shelters for the homeless and hungry appeal
through the newspaper to send money or gifts to those who are less
fortunate. Members of organization such as the Salvation Army dress up
as Santa Claus and stand on the sidewalks outside stores to collect
money for their own soup kitchens. City police forces supervise a
"Toys for Tots" donation, in which people contribute new or used toys
for children in hospitals and orphanages. Employees give a small part
of their paychecks as a donation to a favorite charity. Such groups
and organizations try to emphasize the true message of Christmas— to
share what you have with others.