Have A Merry Christmas America

Christmas in America has evolved a great deal in the past few centuries. For such a long time, the Puritans, the settlers who came to America in the early 1600s, did not celebrate Christmas at all. They were extremely strict in their views of everything, holidays included. They felt that the holiday was completely unnecessary and that it was an unholy distraction. The Puritans began to fade away in the later 1700s with the advent of liberalism and it is about this time that Christmas began to really make an appearance in the New World.

As time went on and more people emigrated to America from all over Europe, the outside’s influence of the holiday began to show. After the American Revolution, when America was still very young, communities on the east coast began to reinvent the Christmas holiday in new ways. They took the ancient Christmas traditions that they had celebrated in the their homelands and added their own customs as well.

The emerging of different cultural and religious backgrounds on American soil created an interesting society, with varying observances of the holiday. European traditions, such as Christmas trees and giving gifts, grew in popularity. Some Christians would look at the tree as a symbol of Jesus or felt that it represented new beginnings.

Immigrants from Germany introduced their tradition of decorating their Christmas trees with candles, candies, and even little toys. It is Germany, too, that first started bringing Christmas trees into their homes. What we think of as Christmas greenery, such as mistletoe, holly, evergreens, etc. — their significance goes back to ancient history, such as the time of the druids.

Another integral influence on the holiday at the time was American writer, Washington Irving, who wrote a series of essays depicting and praising traditional Christmas celebrations, emphasizing the ancient trademarks of the holiday. Irving had an idealistic view of the Christmas season and portrayed that in his work. Christmas should be peaceful and festive, Irving seemed to say, and his published words touch many. He felt that the holiday could break the barriers between society and prejudices. That’s an idea that still lives in the hearts of many today.

Read more at  Van Buren County Democrat