In this article I will be talking about how, and why, Christmas traditions came to be. To start it off, a big thing is Christmas trees and always putting them up and decorating them every year to put Christmas presents under. Decorative trees have dated back to Germany in the Middle Ages. There was a New York woodsman whose name was Mark Carr and this man is credited with opening the very first United States Christmas tree lot in 1851. In 2019 there was a survey that people completed, and it predicted that 77 percent of United States households had displayed a Christmas tree in their home.
Another Christmas tradition that some partake in is an Elf on the Shelf. This began in 2005, and Moms and Dads go as early as Thanksgiving, all the way to Christmas, having the Elf on the Shelf up. This is always something that parents do with their kids. They hide it around the house every so often, then the kids have to search around and go find it. There have been more than 13 million elves that have been purchased since 2005, when Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell, published a book called “Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. The parents even come up with different pranks that the Elf looks like it is doing. This is always an enjoyable time for everyone, ever since it started back in 2005.
Some people hang up door wreaths on their door for Christmas every year. Wreaths in general have been around since the ancient Greek and Roman times. These are a great decorative item to have during the Christmas holidays.
My sister’s fiance Nick’s family Christmas tradition was going to his grandparents Christmas Eve. They ate and opened their Christmas gifts from their grandparents. Then they drove home and opened presents from Santa, and it was always pajamas. They would get up at 5 am to start their day for Christmas. Nick said, “Christmas traditions mean everything to a small family.”
My mom Alison’s Christmas traditions growing up were all of her immediate family and extended family. They always got together on Christmas Eve at Papaw’s house. Everyone would bring their own appetizers and would socialize and play cards that night. And then once the kids couldn’t stand the anticipation any longer, they would all open one gift. The next morning, immediate family would all open their gifts, and Mamaw would make sure each kid would have the same amount of presents, no matter how big or small. And then they would all get together and eat a big Christmas meal. With our family now, my mom has carried on the same tradition as Mamaw did, making sure each of them had the same number of gifts a piece. On Christmas Day our family gets up early in the morning and opens all of the gifts. Afterwards we get cleaned up and go to my aunt’s and celebrate together. Though we miss all of our family members that we’ve lost, we still all enjoy being together. As my mom says, “Christmas is about family and being together.”
