There are many Christmas traditions. Some families have their own ways of celebrating, particular food they like to eat, ways they like to decorate, songs they like to sing etc. Many of the traditions that we tend to follow date back a long way but some may be much more modern than we may realize.

Christmas Decorations

Evergreens and garlands were hung by ancient Egyptians , Chinese and Hebrews as they were thought to represent eternal life. In Europe pagans tended to worship evergreen trees, In medieval times Germans used fir trees as a representation of the Tree of Paradise in the Adam and Eve story when they were doing plays about it. The trees were decorated. In Germany the use of trees became popular with settlers from Germany introducing them to America in the 17th century. People also decorate with mistletoe, holly and ivy which are very traditional and can be gathered for free. In the 1890’s tree lights were used by decorators and the tradition caught on and nowadays no trees are without lights.

Christmas Activities

These days having lights on the outside of houses an din trees is very much part of the Christmas tradition. Along with decorating Christmas trees and the insides of our houses, some people like to compete with who can have the best or the most lights on their house. This is a modern tradition but many activity stem from much further back. Many churches and schools re-enact the nativity to remind everyone of what they are actually celebrating. This was a custom started by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223 to make the story available to all. Many people also celebrate the season by singing traditional carols, this was a tradition where people would visit their neighbors and knock on their door and sing to them. Normally a group of people would go out but this tradition has .

Christmas Food

There are many traditional foods and these will be different depending on which country you live in and maybe even which part of a country you live in. Some families have traditions of their own or specific ways of cooking the foods. In USA it is traditional to eat green beans soaked in mushrooms soup, figgy pudding and fruitcake. Also it has the foods of the season such a turkey, squashes and potatoes and other foods which were traditionally eaten in winter festivals such as roasted meats and baked goods. Many of these baked goods are shaped to represent traditional Christmas things such as cookies like stars or trees and chocolate cakes that look like yule logs. Some cookies are even hung on the Christmas tree as are chocolates in Christmas themed shapes.Many people overeat at this time of the year.