Christmas in the United States of
America
The United States of America has
many different traditions and ways that people celebrate Christmas, because of
its multi-cultural nature. Many customs are similar to ones in the UK, France,
Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Mexico. The traditional meal for Western
European families is turkey or ham with cranberry sauce. Families from Eastern
European origins favour turkey with trimmings, keilbasi (a Polish sausage),
cabbage dishes, and soups; and some Italian families prefer lasagne! Some
Americans use pop-corn threaded on string to help decorate their Christmas
Tree. Making gingerbread houses is also popular to make and eat at Christmas!
Eggnog is a 'traditional' Christmas drink in the USA. Many Americans,
especially Christians will go to Church to celebrate the birth of Jesus at
Christmas. Many churches have special Christmas Carol services and events where
the story of Christmas is told. In New England (the American States of
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine),
there are shops called 'Christmas Shops' that only sell Christmas decorations
and toys all the year round! Americans also send out Christmas Cards, like
Carol singing and there's the unusual custom of the Christmas Pickle! People in
America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and sometimes
even statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and Reindeer. Some cookies and glass of milk
are often left out as a snack for Santa on Christmas Eve! Towns and cities
often decorate the streets with lights to celebrate Christmas. Perhaps the most
famous Christmas street lights in the USA are at the Rockefeller Center in New
York where there is a huge Christmas Tree with a public ice skating rink in front
of it over Christmas and the New Year. In Hawaii, Santa is called Kanakaloka! Customs
such as Mumming take place in some communities. In the Southwest USA, there are
some special customs which have some similarities to those in parts of Mexico.
These include 'luminarias' or 'farolitos' which are paper sacks partly filled
with sand and then have a candle put in them. They are lit on Christmas Eve and
are put the edges of paths. They represent 'lighting the way' for somewhere for
Mary and Joseph to stay. A popular food at Christmas in the Southwest USA are
tamales. In the south of Louisiana, on Christmas Eve, families
in small communities along the Mississippi River light bonfires along the
levees (the high river banks) to help 'Papa Noel' (the name for Santa in French
as Louisiana has a strong historical connection with France) find his way to
the children's homes!
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