Christmas in the USA: features, traditions, culture

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Christmas is one of the brightest and most beautiful Christian holidays. Millions of people are waiting for him with hope and joy in their hearts. A magical Christmas night makes even very serious people forget about their affairs and worries for a while. Imbued with the fabulous spirit of the holiday, adults, like children, believe in miracles.

Christmas in the US, as in other countries where the majority of the population is Catholic, is celebrated on December 25th. Despite the different religions of the country's multinational population, this holiday for Americans is one of the brightest and most colorful. The traditions and peculiarities of its celebration in the USA will be discussed.

Preparations for the holiday

Long before the long-awaited celebration, Americans begin preparations for it. The streets of the cities are decorated with sparkling multi-colored lights of electric garlands. Many stores hire decorators to decorate their windows in the spirit of Christmas. So, the most famous department stores in Manhattan have been organizing an unspokencompetition in the creativity of the Christmas decoration of their halls and shop windows.

The owners of houses and mansions participate in the pre-holiday decor race. All this sparkling beauty is clearly conveyed by films about Christmas in the USA, the list of which American directors annually replenish with a new fabulous story.

Santa's bell is heard on the streets of the cities, foreshadowing a meeting with a kind wizard. Trade barkers, dressed in his costume, congratulate passers-by on the upcoming holiday and remind them of Christmas gifts. Large shopping centers invite specially trained actors to play the role of Santa and equip a fabulous residence where the wizard listens to the cherished desires of the little ones.

How Christmas is celebrated in the USA

The country's multinationality has also led to the diversity of Christmas traditions. So, the custom of decorating a fir tree came to the United States of America along with immigrants from Germany. The famous Christmas carols got their distribution thanks to immigrants from England. And the various street decorations with luminous lanterns and garlands are elements of ancient Spanish traditions, when on Christmas Eve, imitating the illuminated path of Mary and Joseph, paper lanterns with a candle inside were displayed along the streets.

St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas), who over time became Santa Claus - the giver of gifts, was one of the most revered saints among Dutch Americans, but soon became one of the world symbols personifying Christmas.

In the USA, Santa got his recognizable appearance and a red suit. The first to work on the now famous image was the cartoonist of Harper Weekly magazine Thomas Nast in 1863. Completed for an advertising campaign for Coca-Cola in 1931 by artist Haddon Hubbard Sundblom.

Festive table

As mentioned above, the United States of America is a multinational country, so the culinary preferences of its citizens are different.

Christmas in the US for Americans with Scottish roots is unthinkable without serving a piglet to the festive table. An Irish Christmas table should have ham or turkey. For immigrants from Germany, the main dish of the holiday is a baked goose. Moreover, it is believed that the fatter and larger the bird, the more successful the coming year will be.

Italian Americans must have a cod dish on their Christmas menu. However, the Irish custom won, and now most Americans cannot imagine a festive table for Christmas in the USA without the main dish - roasted turkey.

Christmas Spirit

On the approach of the long-awaited holiday remind not only all kinds of Christmas markets and sales. Christian churches are beautifully decorated, and performances on the famous biblical theme are staged in schools and preschool institutions.

Christmas for many Americans is not only an occasion to gather at the festive family table and exchange gifts. First of all, greatChristian holiday inspires faith in goodness and justice in the hearts of people. Therefore, Americans on Christmas Eve pay great attention to charity. They transfer funds to various funds to help those in need or join as volunteers in charity events.

Christmas Movies

Cinema and television also contribute to creating a dreamlike mood. During the holidays, a lot of entertainment programs, concerts and TV shows are shown on the television screens of the country.

But in this colorful program there is always a place for films that have long been loved by the audience. For example, such a family film about Christmas in the United States as It's a Wonderful Life, first released in 1946, has long been an indispensable attribute of the holiday. Without this picture, Americans do not imagine Christmas television in the same way as our viewers do without the film "The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" New Year holidays.

Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, Bad Santa, A Christmas Carol, Exchange Vacation, Sleepless in Seattle and Love Actually are also on the movie list which Americans love to watch during the Christmas holidays.

Blessing theme

The kind and magical theme of the holiday is fertile ground for creativity, and every year directors try to create a new interesting film about it. Christmas in the USA is also the time of premieres of such films. So in 2015, films were released:

• Krampus Stole Christmas (Director Michael Dougherty).
• Love the Coopers (Director Jesse Nelson).
• Just in Time for Christmas Directed by Sean McNamara.
• "Christmas" (directed by Jonathan Levin).

Despite the fact that the films did not receive laudatory reviews from critics, each found its audience and, perhaps, for someone will become a favorite Christmas movie.