American Christmas Traditions

Break out the decorations, people! Christmas is coming! I love Christmas all year round as well as in this particular season. I am attempting to quickly summarize Christmas traditions in one article, so we’ll see how it goes. Today’s article will explain the main traditions most Americans have during Christmastime: The Nativity, Santa Claus, Gift-Giving, Christmas Trees, Caroling. Okay, at this point I may be trying to outdo what I can in one article. I’ll write about the most important ones first, and then get onto the rest.

The Nativity

Many of us have heard the phrase “the true meaning of Christmas.” It tends to be circulated all around us with the phrase “the spirit of Christmas” during the Christmas season. But what does Christmas really mean for all of us? Basically, in our world today, Christmas equals presents, winter, holidays, music, and whatever else may be inserted into this sentence. But Christmas finds it heart at the Nativity scene that is rarely seen each year.

The Nativity scene like any other scene tells a story. The story that it brings is one of love, grace, and hope. We all have heard about how Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Now that was the roughest summary of the Christmas story I have ever heard or told. Refer to Luke 1 and 2 for the whole story. But don’t we sometimes read these chapters just as a story. I mean, we think it’s great and all that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but we need to continuously remember what God is telling us through this story.

There are so many lessons that can be learned from this story alone. This shows that God keeps His promises. He promised that a Messiah would come, and the Messiah did. This also shows that God provides. He protected Mary and Joseph throughout the whole story. Traveling was difficult in those days. God provided them a stable to stay in. Even that was a blessing (in disguise). God is sovereign over all of history. Have you ever wondered why the story was that way? How did Jesus and his family escape from Herod in Jerusalem at the right time? All of history is sovereignly controlled by God. That’s why it is amazing to study history. God coordinated everything that happened.

This Christmas whenever you see a Nativity set, remember the great things God has done for all of us. Even the smallest blessings are from God.

I personally have never left cookies out for Santa, but I always have wondered what happens to cookies that are left out for Santa Claus. Do parents eat them instead? I have no clue. Someone should answer this thought provoking question.



I personally have never left cookies out for Santa, but I always have wondered what happens to cookies that are left out for Santa Claus. Do parents eat them instead? I have no clue. Someone should answer this thought provoking question.

Santa Claus (and Mrs. Claus)

It’s probably a little odd to go from the Nativity to Santa Claus. But anyways, hopefully, all of us know about Santa Claus. He is inspired by St. Nicholas who lived in the fourth century. He gave gifts to the poor, and in the Middle Ages, children were given gifts on December 6th, the day before a holiday in his name.

St. Nicholas is spelled as Sinterklaas in Dutch. The English pronunciation of the name is Santa Claus. Besides inspiration from Father Christmas, who wears a green suit instead, America seems to have a history with Santa Claus. Cartoons and poems were the most influential of sources about Santa Claus in the 19th century. In fact, Katherine Lee Bates, the author of “America the Beautiful,” is known for popularizing Mrs. Claus.

Santa Claus in the 20th century began with L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz. He wrote a fantasy novel about the life of Santa Claus. I read it; it is really odd. Coca-Cola and the Salvation Army began using Santa’s image in their advertisements.

Well, Santa Claus is an important figure today after all of that history. Some may say that it is sinful to even tell the story of Santa, but I tend to believe otherwise. I believe that Santa Claus is an American legend and tradition that is near to each of our hearts much like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or traditional Christmas songs. That is why I tend to state that I am pro-Santa. Although it is a great thing to have traditions, I think it is all the more important to remember the true meaning of Christmas (which I mentioned above). All the rest of the blessings seem even more bountiful once we know the one who blesses us daily.

By the way, did you know that Santa Claus is actually a Canadian citizen? “On December 23, 2008, Jason Kenney, Canada's minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, formally awarded Canadian citizenship status to Santa Claus. ‘The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete.’” Who would have thought? And after all we Americans have done to develop Santa’s character.

Gift-giving

I love giving presents on Christmas, and I also honestly love being given presents. We all do. There’s nothing quite like giving a present as a thank-you to someone who has encouraged you incredibly. For the holiday of St. Nicholas, children were given presents in the Middle Ages. When the Protestant Reformation began, Martin Luther decided that there would be an alternative to this Catholic holiday tradition on Christmas. He promoted gift-giving for Christmas as a reminder of Christ’s gift of salvation from sin to us. Most people now give gifts to signify this as well as the fact that the Wise Men gave Jesus three gifts. I mean, you really can’t argue with this tradition.

Christmas Tree

Tree decorating has always been part of pagan cultures such as the Egyptians, Chinese, and Romans. They used this tradition to worship trees. But unlike many would say, tree decorating at Christmastime has nothing to do with this. It is said that Martin Luther was the first to decorate a Christmas tree. Although the tradition was adopted in the 18th century, we still credit him for this tradition.

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That’s it for this article. Keep reading my blog for some big news coming up. I hope you learned a lot about the many traditions we have, and I hope that you will take this Christmas season to reflect on the gifts God has given us. That’s what Christmas is all about: loving others because Christ has loved us first. Here is a quote by former president Calvin Coolidge. I have this picture as the screen of my computer.