Preview

Christmas Traditions In America

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
654 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Christmas Traditions In America
When I grew up, I noticed around Christmas every year that families put up their Christmas tree and decorations inside and outside of their homes. Reflecting back on this, I question why do people spend more money on decorations for this particular holiday compare to other American holidays. What are the reasons for putting up more decorations for Christmas, and why do certain people spend more for these decorations? The number and type of Christmas decorations have greatly divide which people are in which socioeconomic class.
Christmas is a holiday where people celebrate the festivities, spend time with their families, and give gifts to other people through generosity (“Christmas Traditions, about Christmas at Holiday Insights). How people decorate their house show this habitual tradition. While my mother drove around the neighborhoods, I observed wealthier houses had more decor inside and outside of their house. There were annual competitions between houses for whoever had the best-decorated yard. The number of people visiting the decorated houses and their judgment and approval drive the competition. In my town, the affluent houses always win since they have the funds to support the decorations, and they also have a unique taste in the types of
…show more content…
Many upper-class people decorate their houses with colors such as gold, silver, and bronze. This is dull compared to the many bright decorative colors of an average American household. This is an example of cultural capital for the people in upper class since they know that these colors identify and show off their sophistication, elegance, and classy taste. To other families, their style of decoration may confuse them. The mainstream Christmas decorations of many bright colors dominate the image of what Christmas looks like. The lower classes do not understand that the upper class tries to show off their sense of style and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hank Stuever utilizes many rhetorical devices to reinforce his point that Christmas traditions can be anything, they don’t have to be something that is seen as traditional. For example, shopping. It is important to both economics, and many family traditions.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hey Virginia, there is more than just a Santa Claus. Nowadays, Americans have either forgotten or ignored Christmas traditions put in place over 1500 years ago. They would rather indulge in the gifts and shopping to please their family than sit back and enjoy the holiday. This new mindset has led Christmas, Hanukkah, and other seasonal festivals to lose their religious intent through the past centuries by the hands of both people and markets. The original purpose of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, has been trampled and overshadowed by a marketeer’s interpretation of how to represent the holiday. Santa and snowmen have become the faces of Christmas, instead of the Son…

    • 2401 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    American families derive pleasure in viewing Christmas movies, and the hyperbolized plots give children and adolescents, the most influential individuals in society, unreasonable expectations, which affect their practicality. According to the website, “Problems with Christmas Curriculum,” published by Steven A. Gelb, the standard formula used to create the plot of hundreds of holiday movies, shows the same fantasized version of Christmas, which makes one’s choice of how they would want their holiday to take place, difficult. Although several individuals would like the reality of a holiday to more closely resemble the television-version, visual settings, reasons for celebrating, and the holiday’s ending make individual unrealistically expect a more romanticized version of Christmas.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Colonial Christmas was a holiday for adults, not a magical day for children. Christmas celebrations originated in the southern colonies, and activities included parties, hunts, feasts, and church services, all of which were adult activities. We do get some of our traditions from colonial days. For instance, the main decorations were holly, laurel, and garland, because these were the only plants that looked good during the middle of winter. Mistletoe was hung prominently, and couples would find their way under it at the Christmas balls.…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fanny's Strengths

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Christmas Tradition that the family has is to decorate the house all together (inside and out) and they all stay up together until the house is finished. Another tradition is that they have a big family dinner on Christmas Eve and the family stays up until midnight and each of them open one gift until the next day. A final tradition that this family has is their New Year’s tradition: on New Year’s Day, the family spends the whole day together and they play board games and watch movies as a…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Sedaris’s reading “Six to Eight Black Men” American traditions versus other traditions in different culture have different ways they celebrate Christmas every year. Sedaris got to meet up with a guy, Oscar, who explained to him how they celebrate Christmas in their culture.…

    • 331 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people in Canada do not know when Eastern Christian Orthodox in Ukraine is celebrating Christmas. On January 6th it is a Christmas evening and Ukrainians have especial dinner and special church’s service. Being an international student in Canada gave me an amazing opportunity to celebrate twice this particular for all Christians day. In addition, not only days are different, diverse foods are served on the tables and different traditions accompanied participants.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Families fill the Christmas tree with ornaments, candy canes and tinsel. Decorating an evergreen fir tree has been a tradition for approximately a thousand years. Pagans used the branches to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, making them think of the spring to come. Majority of houses during the Christmas season are decorated with lights. Some families host Christmas light shows. They have millions of lights synchronized with music and have dancing Santas. The best way to enjoy decorating is with Christmas carols. Few people go door to door caroling for others. Early christians caroled to show praise and…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evolution Of Christmas

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Winston Churchill once said, “Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” As the big day draws near, it is important to reflect on the roots of the global holiday as well as the direction in which it is heading. Christmas is a tradition rooted deep in the history of western society. It has undergone many changes since it’s earliest celebrations. Even today, the holiday is constantly changing. Each year brings new innovations to Christmas. In the dawn of the holiday, it was minor and focused on the birth of Jesus, the light of the world. In the 19th century, Christmas was a time of family and goodwill to mankind. Today, though there still remains aspects of religion and selflessness, more than ever it has become a holiday consumed by commercialism. It is a development that is not likely to go way any time soon.…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Essay On Thanksgiving

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lastly, others may disagree with my opinions because they would want the christmas spirit to last longer or because it would be more cheaper to buy in those “hectic” stores. According to Heather steveson she replies “I always put my christmas decorations up because my kids & I really enjoy having them up & because it saves the time going through our shed looking to look for them then lilke a week later we would have to take them down.” Due to this reason a lot of people do it.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over 81 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. This illustrates how the majority of Americans, including myself, love Christmas. As a child, I always looked forward to the gifts, but as I matured, I learned that there is more to Christmas than gifts. The cheerful people, amazing baked goods, and Christmas songs makes the holiday of Christmas what I look forward to every year.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Christmas vs Thanksgiving

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Christmas is a kid’s favorite holidays for really only one reason: presents. We live in a society where materialistic things outweigh almost anything else. We would do almost anything to get the new iPhone, and we have an annual “buy as much as you can” day, also known as Black Friday. Christmas, unfortunately, has gone away from its religious origins and has been turned into the most expensive holiday of the year. Although I am sitting here trashing Christmas, I do still enjoy the snow and the decorations; who doesn’t? Snow sets the stage for Santa, and decorations make it all the merrier. Twinkling lights accompany almost every roof and dance in the cold winter gusts. The weather and feel of Christmas couldn’t be more perfect for the holiday; cold keeps us in the house and makes the fire feel all the more wonderful, while sugary treats and presents make our tummies and shelves feel good. Unfortunately for Christmas, my love for the day has diminished. I have grown up to see how selfish our society is during this time of year and now different we treat the holiday than it is actually supposed…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Commercialism decides what our house decorations should look like. Every year there is pressure from your neighbors to put up decorations. It’s always going to be embarrassing if you’re the only house on the block without Christmas lights and decorations. Suppose your neighbor goes all-out for Christmas, then you feel that you have to go buy more things that way you’re not compared to your neighbor.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    RR2

    • 806 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After reading the article “Is the Holiday Season Too Materialistic?” by Amel Saleh, I agree with him because it happens around us. For example, on Christmas each family send gifts to others, they will remove the price tag so nobody will know how much it cost. People should care about spending the great time with their families but not worry about what gifts they should buy. People like the holidays because they know they are going to get presents from others, but they almost forget that holiday is a day that to have great time for hang out. Children expect toys or shoes as their presents from their family on holidays but this is not what holidays should be. This is what I agree with the author, holidays in nowadays are too materialistic. In his article, Amel believes that behind the holiday purely materialistic, and it should have no gifts, but spending time with the one they love and create memories is more important. Most importantly, he explains in December it should be a symbol of a sense of accomplishment, thanks throughout the year and hang out with their families and friends, and the least things should be, is the presents. In Amel’s article he explains that children in the United States are being raised in a culture in which materialism and commercialism run rampant. Children are conditioned to believe that their identity is formed by what they have rather than who they are or who they want to become. The desire for material goods is embedded in American children from an early age and it grows stronger as they age so that as teenagers and as adults they are far more concerned with commercial products and obtaining material things than they are concerned about the world around them or with their own self-worth as human beings. These children are conditioned to believe that happiness and fulfillment can only come from possessions and the constant struggle to procure things that they…

    • 806 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Year 2012 Seasonal Analysis

    • 3368 Words
    • 14 Pages

    The findings indicated that while the Tradition of Christmas Giving remains part of American Tradition the theme is evolving to be a more generalized concept as we frequently hear and see advertisements for the “Holidays” instead of the religious theme of “Merry Christmas”, thus making the Holiday Season a more multi-cultural experience versus a religious one for many Consumers. This advertising technique seem to be successful as many cultures celebrate this season with gift giving. Another finding was that while the news is focusing on The Fiscal Cliff, Consumers are still heading to the stores, purchasing online and not saving as much as they did during the second quarter or 2012.…

    • 3368 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays