A History of Christmas in America

01From VOA Learning English, I'm Katie Weaver.

02Today, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith present a special program on Christmas traditions in the United States during the first half of the 19th century.

03During this period, there was no set way of celebrating the day, which was not yet an official holiday.

04Communities around the country honored the day in different ways.

05Some observed Christmas as an important Christian religious day, honoring the birth of Jesus.

06Others celebrated the day with parties, music, drinking, and eating.

07And some communities did not celebrate the day at all.

08But it was during this period that Americans began to reinvent the holiday.

09They combined ancient Christmas traditions from different cultures with modern American influences.

10Here are Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith.

11In 1819, the popular American writer, Washington Irving, wrote a series of five essays published in a book called The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

12The essays describe a wealthy British landowner who invites his farm workers into his home to celebrate Christmas.

13The landowner recreates a traditional Christmas as it would have been celebrated in the distant past.

14Irving praised this looking back to ancient traditions.

15He liked the idea of different levels of society coming together to enjoy a festive and peaceful holiday.

16Washington Irving seemed to express concern about the lack of such unifying Christmas traditions in modern America.

17It shows how Americans began to slowly shape Christmas into a unifying national holiday during the first half of the 19th century.

18She describes how Christmas had different meanings for Americans who came from different cultural and religious backgrounds.

19Many immigrants brought Christmas traditions from their own countries.

20Religion played a big role in how an American might celebrate the holiday.

21Calvinist Christians banned the celebration of Christmas.

22But groups such as Episcopalians and Moravians honored the day with religious services and seasonal decorations.

23By mid-century, Christian groups began to ignore their religious differences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day in special ways.

24Christmas became an important time for families to celebrate at home.

25More and more Christian Americans also began to follow the European traditions of Christmas trees and giving gifts.

26Christians believed that the tree represented Jesus and was also a sign of new beginnings.

27German immigrants brought their tradition of putting lights, sweets, and toys on the branches of evergreen trees placed in their homes.

28This tradition of setting up a Christmas tree soon spread to many American homes.

29So did the practice of giving people presents.

30As Christmas became more popular, some states declared the day a state holiday.

31Louisiana was the first state to make the move in 1837.

32By 1860, 14 other states had followed.

33It was not until 1870 that President Ulysses Grant made Christmas a federal holiday.

34Americans already knew old Christmas songs that came from England and other areas of Europe.

35But many new American Christmas songs started to become popular.

36For example, in 1849, a religious leader from Massachusetts wrote the words to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.

37The song Jingle Bells appeared seven years later.

38And a year later, a religious leader in Williamsport, Pennsylvania wrote the song We Three Kings of Orient Are.

39And of course, no discussion of Christmas would be complete without talking about one of the holiday's most famous representations, Santa Claus.

40This character is based on the story of St.

41Nicholas, a Christian holy person believed to have lived in the 3rd century.

42St.

43Nicholas became known as a protector of children.

44In his role as a Christmas hero, different cultures have given him different names.

45These include Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, and Father Christmas.

46But for most Americans, his most popular name would become Santa Claus.

47In the 19th century, many Dutch immigrants living in the United States celebrated the Feast of St.

48Nicholas on December 6th.

49St.

50Nicholas was especially important to New Yorkers because of their history as a Dutch colony.

51In 1809, Washington Irving published his History of New York.

52It lists St.

53Nicholas as the patron saint of New Yorkers.

54He describes the saint wearing a low hat, large pants, and smoking a pipe.

55Does this description sound familiar?

56Is this the first time he's been here?

57Is this the first time he's been here?

58Is this the first time he's been here?

59Is this the first time he's been here?

60Is this the first time he's been here?

61Is this the first time he's been here?

62Is this the first time he's been here?

63Is this the first time he's been here?

64Is this the first time he's been here?

65Is this the first time he's been here?

66Is this the first time he's been here?