Christmas history in America lacks a distinct direction and appears to be a mash-up of many diverse cultural tales and practices. It's not strange that our holiday season is jam-packed with so many rich customs, given that the American people are truly a diaspora of several countries. Christmas Day rituals have evolved into a broader celebration of Christmases past, from German Christmas trees and English pudding to Scandinavian yule logs and New England turkeys.

Some religious historians argue that the Christmas celebration is awkwardly timed, believing that a more authentic birth might have occurred in September or later in the fall, when travel between Bethlehem and Jerusalem would be easier. In fact, for three centuries prior to Christ's birth, December 25th, Christmas Day, had been observed as the "Winter Solstice." This was the point at which the worst of winter was behind, and they could look forward to more sunlight and brighter days ahead.

Fathers and sons in Scandinavia would carry enormous logs home to burn for 24 hours to bring good luck for the next year. People in Germany went indoors to avoid the pagan god Oden's nighttime journeys across the sky, when he would judge those who would perish and those who would live.



Saturnalia, a licentious feast in Rome, would feature plenty of food and wine, praise children, and give slaves or peasants the opportunity to become masters for a month. It's widely assumed that the church chose this date to replace the season's pagan rituals and persuade people to accept Christianity instead.

Despite the fact that Christmas had gotten off to a difficult start, the Christmas spirit had become so strong that it had brought one of the world's most powerful armies to a standstill for just one day. The sounds of rifles firing quieted and shells stopped exploding on Christmas Day in 1914, creating an eerie silence on the battlefield. A melody emerged from the trenches throughout the Western Front as both German and British troops began singing a Christmas carol across enemy lines.

At dawn, a few unarmed German soldiers stepped out of hiding, crying out a timid "Merry Xmas" in their adversary's home tongue. When the Allies realized this wasn't a ruse, they dashed out of the trenches to shake hands and trade smokes and plum pudding. During the brief ceasefire, a few soldiers played soccer, while others painfully retrieved some of the remains. This remarkable occurrence occurred just five months into this horrible war, demonstrating how basic moral humanity shines through even in the worst of circumstances.

In many ways, Americans have become estranged from today's Christmas traditions. Christmas trees, for example, are a German tradition that dates back to the 17th century; however, the Puritans were wary of celebrating in such pagan ways, so stately pines didn't gain widespread popularity in America until 1846, when a sketch of Queen Victoria, her children, and a tree decorated with Christmas ornaments circulated.

Christmas cards were popular in Britain, but they were not widely used in America until 1850, when German card-maker Louis Prang emigrated and opened a business. Mistletoe, a Celtic and Teutonic custom that extends back to the Victorian era, was thought to cure wounds, enhance fertility, and fend off evil spirits. Plum pudding dates back to the Middle Ages in England. Caroling is another English custom in which traveling minstrels would travel from town to town performing for the wealthy in exchange for a warm supper, a comfortable bed, and a pittance. The traditions of St. Nicholas, as well as the Scandinavian habit of laying shoes on the hearth in anticipation of gold money and candies, are claimed to have inspired the tradition of hanging stockings.