Christmas

By Christmas, every house is decorated with a Christmas tree and toys.Christmas is a Christian holiday dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is officially celebrated on December 25 in the United States, but Americans usually celebrate it for several days. For example, schools and colleges for children arrange Christmas holidays that last until the New Year.

Christmas is a happy, family holiday. All family members exchange gifts.

Family and friends who are far from home are sent elegant Christmas cards with wishes for a Merry Christmas. In preparation for this holiday, Americans put a Christmas tree in the largest room of the house and decorate it with toys and candles.

Kids are waiting for Santa Claus to come to every house and bring them presents. On Christmas Eve, children usually hang stockings by the fireplace, which Santa Claus fills with gifts at night. This tradition is associated with the legend, according to which St. Nicholas gave the poor homeless women a purse with gold, putting their gifts in the stockings of girls, hung overnight by the fireplace - to dry.

The custom of decorating homes for Christmas with hoarse, ivy and mistletoe came to the United States from England. Each of these plants has its own connection with the divine principle. Ivy represents immortality. Ostrolist, evergreen shrub with glossy sharp leaves, is designed to instill in a person faith in the best and hope. Its brilliant red berries symbolize the blood of Jesus Christ. The veneration of mistletoe as a sacred plant became a custom long before the birth of Christ. For example, the Druids believed that it could cure many diseases and protect against evil spells. Hence the tradition of hanging mistletoe branches, intertwined with ribbon, over the entrance to the house. It was believed that a man has the right to kiss a girl who accidentally found herself under a mistletoe branch. This custom of kissing under the mistletoe during the Christmas and New Year holidays has survived in the United States.