In the USA Christmas is a one day festivity. I still remember my first Christmas in
America. For me it so obvious that it is
a 2-day celebration that it didn’t even come to my mind that I should go to
work on the Second Day of Christmas.
It took some major explaining to do and the support of one of the
co-workers who had relatives in Canada to convince my boss that traditionally,
world-wide, Christmas is celebrated for more than one day.
Commercially, though, Christmas is stretched into an eight or even
a twelve day shopping rather than religious event prior to the Holiday. It is a borrowing from the 8 days of Hanukah
tradition and the 12 days of Christmas that starts the day after Christmas, on
December the 26th, and is observed by some Christian denominations.
We may think it impossible but Christmas had very harsh beginningsin the USA and was even forbidden in the early years of the European settlement
and colonization in British America. It
wasn’t until the country became independent that the celebrations became legal
and popular in the northern states of the American Union.
No
matter how it started and the early tradition, American Christmas is a true
festival of lights, Christmas trees and gift giving. Just like in the rest of the World it is
about spending time together with your family, relatives and friends (funny TV episodes). It is about celebrating love, hope and Jesus
Christ. On the other hand, probably contrary to
the most of the globe, the celebrations are widely supported by other religions
including Judaism and Islam in the tradition of peaceful co-existence so
typical of modern United States of America. It is not about12 pains of Christmas (sing along funny song)
Merry
Christmas!
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