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Christmas Traditions in the U.S.A.

 

Perhaps more than any other nation, Americans all over the USA embrace Christmas in a huge way. This may well be because prior to the American Civil War the North & South were of different opinions on the issue of Christmas traditions but since then, Christmas traditions in the USA are have proliferated and the traditions are extremely varied due to them being a blend of many ethnic customs from around the world.

The other normal Christmas traditions of celebrating the Nativity, Santa Claus, Christmas Trees, Exchanging Gifts, Christmas Carols etc. are to be seen on an extravagant scale in the USA as Americans love to celebrate.

The Christmas tradition which differs most in the USA compared to most other countries, is the scale on which Americans decorate the outside of the their homes.

Florida has a unique Christmas holiday tradition - there is a town actually called Christmas and people go to the local post office to have their Christmas cards postmarked “Christmas, Florida “. It has also become a tradition in Fort Christmas, to have pioneer demonstrations, homemade crafts, exhibits and barbeque during the first weekend in December. Due to the lack of ice and snow and the difficulty of getting the “Christmas atmosphere” it has become a tradition for the shops in Florida to go to great lengths to create the atmosphere indoors.

 

Due to its enormous size and cultural diversity, there are too many Christmas traditions to deal with them all individually. However, a few of the following individual state-oriented food-type Christmas traditions are very interesting.

New England – a Christmas tradition here involves the baking of a delicious pie. It is made from mashed potato, onion, any kind of meat and flavoured with cinnamon. It is called Lumberjack Pie.
Baltimore – a Christmas tradition here involves serving sauerkraut with the turkey – this is made up of carrots apples and onions.

Pennsylvania – a Christmas tradition here for Dutch descendents is to eat Sand Tarts which are thin biscuits.

Virginia – it is a Christmas tradition here to serve up oyster and ham pie.

Louisiana - Christmas tradition here is to eat Creole Gumbo. It is made up usually of a combination of chicken, veal, ham, prawns, oysters and crabmeat.

North Carolina - a Christmas tradition treat here is a sweet tasting bun made from flour and mashed potatoes called a Moravian Love-Feast Bun

New Mexico’s individual Christmas food tradition comes in the shape of a little beef pie with apple sauce, raisins and pine nuts and known as an empanadita.

Hawaii has evolved a Christmas tradition of serving turkey marinated in teriyaki sauce and cooked outdoors over a pit – called of course, Turkey Teriyaki.

The Southern States have a Christmas tradition whereby they serve a soufflé made from grits and very strong whiskey.