Christmas (354- ), which falls on December 25th, is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In America and in many Christian countries it is the most important holiday of the year.
Note: This post is about Christmas in America (the US).
Over the years Christmas has become something that has little to do with Christ. Many people celebrate it who have not been inside a church in years or who do not even call themselves Christians.
On Christmas Day almost everyone gets off work or school. They give gifts to each other and then at night have a large meal. For children it is the happiest day of the year.
In the north it comes a few days after the start of winter. Getting ready for Christmas and looking forward to it makes the coming of the cold seem not so bad.
American Christmas is really two Dutch holidays rolled into one: Saint Nicholas’ Day on December 6th and Christmas itself. The Dutch in New York gave their children gifts on St Nicholas’s Day and put treats in their stockings. Christmas, meanwhile, was a more serious church holiday, like Easter.
The English in New York copied the Dutch, but did all the St Nicholas’ Day things on Christmas.
Over time St Nicholas became what we now know as Santa Claus.
Santa Claus is a fat man with a long white beard who dresses in red and white. He laughs a lot and says “Ho, ho, ho.” He lives at the North Pole with his wife. He keeps a list of good children and bad children.
On Christmas Eve Santa Claus delivers gifts to good children all over the world. Bad children get coal. Or nothing. Santa is helped by flying reindeer. The most famous of these is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His nose is so bright Santa can fly through any weather.
Children and shopkeepers love Santa. He has largely taken over Christmas from Baby Jesus. Many shops, and even some industries, would go broke if it were not for the Christmas that comes in a box.
There are special Christmas songs, food, television shows, films and so on. It is not just any day.
A few weeks before Christmas you put up a Christmas tree. There is even a song about that! The gifts go under the tree and wait there to be opened on Christmas Day (or Christmas Eve).
The gifts are put inside of boxes and covered with colourful paper so you cannot tell what they are. The expectation and surprise is part of the experience.
Children put up Christmas stockings, which get filled with treats overnight. This part goes back to a story about St Nicholas.
As a child I liked opening gifts best. Most of what I got as a child came on Christmas and my birthday.
Now that I am older I like the church part better. I go to mass on Christmas Eve. It is the only part of Christmas that has not been ruined by shopkeepers and in-laws.
– Abagond, 2006, 2015.
See also:
- Eastern Orthodox Christmas
- Jesus Christ
- America
- Christian
- New York
- Easter
- St Nicholas
- Santa Claus
- Christmas stories
- Christmas songs
- The oneness of mankind
I’m a little surprised my favorite blogger has little to say about the paganism of Christmas. “Christ” wasn’t born then and it’s roots go back further than the Dutch. Constantine and others have a hand in it. It’s a european constructed and celebrated day.
You’re still my favorite blogger.
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@Abagond there is about black Satan Claus?
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This post brings to mind an article I read in The American Conservative (of all places!) The author of that piece argued in favor of some of the secular aspects of modern American Christmas observances. The author noted:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/in-defense-of-the-secular-embrace-of-christmas/
The author also lauded what he called “the larger mid-century cultural phenomenon of the Jewish Christmas … songmakers who turned Christmas into something about chestnuts and shiny-nosed reindeers. And that’s exactly as it should be; Christmas may be about Christ, but in a great big diverse society there is no reason why it may not also be expanded and universalized—as C.S. Lewis understood.”
Hmm. That explains all of those songs like, Holly, Jolly Christmas, The Christmas Song, Silver Bells and White Christmas.
I don’t exactly agree with the author of that article on all points, but like him I detest the over-commercialization of Christmas. I hate how in their rush to make 4th quarter profits, stores and companies put up decorated trees in October, play “Christmas” music non-stop in November and December and bang everyone over the head with sappy Christmas commercials and television “specials”.
Also lost in commercial Christmas are regional traditions. Growing up in the South, Christmas was all about food: huge bowls of fresh apples and oranges, nuts in the shell, oven-roasted pecans, candies, coffee, tea and eggnog which was freely shared with anyone who crossed your threshold.
Relatives and friends were central to Black Southern Christmases. We spent a lot of time visiting and sharing meals, songs and dances. Plus poetry and speeches. There were years where gifts were scarce, but my siblings and I didn’t complain, because of the excitement of spending time with people who cared about us.
To me, that is what Christmas is about, people, not things.
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