Christmas Traditions In America

Christmas Traditions Christmas traditions across the country varies. Around Christmas time, you see almost every house covered in Christmas lights, wreaths, and yard decorations. Although, all the world is not Christian, and Christmas is a Christian holiday; everyone has made their own Christmas that fits the culture that they are living in. Even though the environment, excitement, and the mood of celebration differs, the main spirit remains all the same. In America, hanging stockings, baking cakes, and giving fruit, and candy as gifts has been a long standing tradition that is being passed down to generations. The tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney was used as means to dry. This all came about because a father and his family

Over the years, candy has been to reward children that showed good conduct. When they began to receive the special treat, it was something that they enjoyed. During that time, the ingredients that were used to make this candy was hard to obtain, and majority of the people did not have enough money to purchase these sweet goods. Giving candy is a tradition that began in 1670, where a choirmaster at Germany's Cologne Cathedral faced a problem that still challenges parents today. The children in the choir became very noisy and restless during long church services. The choirmaster came up with a plan, and found a local candy shop. He saw some white and red sweet sticks, and knew that the kids would love them. The choirmaster asked the maker if he could bend the sticks and make a crook at the top, and the plan went well. The choirmaster asked for the crook so that the children would be able to remember the story about the shepherds, who came to visit the baby Jesus. Not only was the candy a rewardable treats, but it was also a teaching tool. The choirmaster decided to say that the pure white color could represent the sinless life of Christ, and the red could represent Jesus and his blood. This was a two in one special. The candy that was given to the children also had a deeper meaning. There was a time in history where celebrating Christmas was once banned, and Christians used candy canes to

Fruitcake is a popular gift around almost every holiday. According to research, fruitcake “gets passed down from family member to family member because no one has the guts to say “no thank you!”” The American tradition of eating fruitcake comes from a British tradition which was sometimes called Christmas cake or Plum cake. It dates back to the 16th century, where everybody found out that fruit could be preserved by soaking it in large solutions of sugar. Since sugar was very cheap, it was an affordable way for them to make sure that their fruit would make it through the hard times without spoiling. By the 19th century, they were combining all kinds of fruit together into a cake like form such as, pears, pineapples, nuts, beets, and orange peels. Some have called fruitcake immortal because it can last up to twenty-five years or more. In 1913, two of the most popular bakeries began to ship mail ordered fruitcakes. This creation has been around ever