The History of Christmas in America
The Christmas we celebrate today looks much different than the Christmas of colonial America, and The Mill at Anselma has been here to witness the evolution. Christmas began as a subdued religious celebration that varied significantly by region. Today, it's one of America’s most extravagant and popular holidays with almost 90% of Americans saying they celebrate.
Colonial American Christmas
Early Christians in America celebrated Christmas as the birth of Jesus, but Easter was much more significant to the religion.
Celebrations varied by region with Christmas being more popular in the southern colonies than the north. The Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas celebrations as wasteful and immoral. It was associated with Paganism and the decadence of Catholicism. The Puritans even successfully banned Christmas in Massachusetts in 1659.
Christmas Gains Popularity in the 19th Century
At a time of national turmoil, Christmas was reimagined from its earlier rambunctious connotations to a more family-oriented celebration to unite the country.
Santa Claus was inspired by the Christian Saint Nicholas being traced back to around 280 AD. In 1822, Episcopal minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem called “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” more popularly known today by its first line: “‘T’was The Night Before Christmas”.
In 1863, Harper Weekly published the first image of Santa Claus as the jolly, bearded man in a red suit we know today on its front page.
In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a federal holiday and in 1889, President Benjamin Harrison began the tradition of having a Christmas tree in the White House.
Technological Advances in the 20th Century and Christmas
Stores began advertising for gifts, especially children's toys, such as the teddy bear that was invented in 1902.
Coca-Cola started using Haddon Sundblom’s illustrations of Santa in their advertising in 1931.
Christmas movies were created including classics such as A Miracle on 24th Street (1945), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965).
Christmas songs like Feliz Navidad, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas, all debuted in the 20th century.
Animated Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and The Year Without a Santa Claus were broadcast on television.
Christmas in the 21st Century
What began as a small and, at times, contested holiday has turned into a wildly popular celebration drawing on an assortment of religious and cultural traditions.
Some of our favorite Christmas traditions have surprising origins! Christmas trees, wreaths, and gift-giving can be traced back to the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia. Yule logs and hanging mistletoe date back to ancient Norse mythology. We can thank Germany for gingerbread houses, Mexico for poinsettias, and American colonists for eggnog!
Several other religious and cultural holidays fall around the winter solstice such as Hanukkah and Kwanza. For agricultural societies, the winter was long and treacherous. The winter solstice marks the shortest night of the year, meaning the worst of the winter is behind us with longer days and warmer weather on the horizon. Thankfully, we no longer live with that uncertainty, but the celebrations, customs, and traditions of our ancestors remain incredibly important to us today.