One of the main decorations of American homes. New Year or Christmas menu from around the world. Christmas in America. Traditions and rituals

… I really wanted to have fun during the Christmas holidays with the Americans, so I decided to go to the USA to see the celebrations with my own eyes. And introduce you to the established American traditions of celebrating merry christmas Christ.

History of Christmas

Most main holiday in the United States - Christmas (Christmas), celebrated throughout the Catholic world on December 25th. True, the traditions of the American Christmas holiday began to take root only towards the end of the 19th century. The most surprising thing is that until the 18th century this holiday was generally banned in the New World. Only Thanksgiving was recognized there. And the Puritans, Baptists, Protestants, who made up the largest and most influential part of the colonists of the New World, even passed a decree in which the celebration of Christmas was equated with a crime. Courageous Americans who allowed themselves to violate the ban were subject to fines.

The first National Christmas tree appeared in front of the White House only in 1891. And in 1895 Christmas was recognized national holiday. All working Americans have since been entitled to rest on these holidays. Since then, Christmas has become the most important holiday in the United States. Since America is a country of emigrants, all ethnic diasporas sacredly observe their own national traditions associated with Christmas rituals, preparation, home decoration, and cooking. But for some time these differences began to fade, so everything was mixed up.

Decorating houses for Christmas

In the United States, it is customary to decorate houses not only inside, but also outside. All houses shine with illumination, resembling festively decorated Christmas trees. The streets of the cities are illuminated so that it is hard to believe that it is night outside the windows. Luminous figures are placed in front of the doors of houses. Trees and shrubs are decorated with garlands. At Christmas, all of America rests, so it is customary to stock up on food, gasoline and everything you need in advance.

Each owner of the house puts elegant snowmen in front of the front doors, and colorful wreaths of spruce are hung on the doors. So, with the decoration of houses is finished. It's time to enter the house and see how the tables were prepared for the holiday.

Family Christmas Eve

A common thing for almost all Americans was the celebration of Christmas with the whole family in the parental home. Before the start of the meal, it is customary to read prayers glorifying God. Then the Americans eat the sacred bread.

After that, the family drinks red wine and eats traditional Christmas dishes, consisting of cabbage and bean soup, homemade sausages, fish, and potato pie. An integral attribute of the Christmas table is prunes and green peas. Americans with Scottish roots consider stuffed turkey to be the main Christmas dish.

I managed to learn the secrets of cooking a Christmas turkey. I don’t want to keep them secret, so I’m happy to share the recipes with you.

Three ways to cook a Christmas turkey

Turkey baked with citrus sauce

We take a turkey weighing five kg. One lemon, five oranges, 50 g butter, salt, black pepper, 75 ml orange liqueur, one teaspoon ground cinnamon, cinnamon sticks and anise. Lubricate the inside and outside of the turkey with melted butter, rub with salt, pepper, cinnamon. We cut the lemon into quarters, the orange - into 6 parts.

We stuff the turkey with citrus fruits, put it on a wire rack and send it to the oven for 3-4 hours. (temperature - 180 degrees). Periodically baste the turkey with the sauce released during frying. We take out the finished bird from the oven and leave it for 20 minutes.

At this time, prepare the sauce. We filter the juice left from frying through several layers of gauze. We put it on the smallest fire and pour in the liquor. The sauce is ready. The remaining oranges are cut into slices, laid out around the turkey, pour everything with sauce, decorate with cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Turkey baked with herbs

Whole 5kg turkey with giblets, 200g butter, 4 tablespoons flour, fresh bay leaf for garnish. Fragrant additives will be lemon, the second half of the onion, thyme (10 branches), rosemary (4 branches), sage (2 branches), parsley (10 branches), bay leaf (4 leaves), and vegetable oil, 4 tbsp. spoons. For gravy, we need 1 leek, finely chopped. Cooking. First, we gut the turkey, cut off the neck, wings and cook the broth together with the giblets. Add half an onion, 2 celery stalks, 1 carrot, 10 black peppercorns and parsley. We cook for 2.5 hours. We cut aromatic additives, add oil and stuff the turkey from the side of the neck.

We heat the oven to 240 degrees. Rub the stuffed turkey with a mixture of 75 g of oil mixed with flour, put in the oven. Melt the remaining butter, mix with a glass of water. After 40 minutes, lower the temperature to 180 degrees, pour the turkey with oil and water and bake for another 50 minutes, pouring the juice over the bird every 15 minutes. Then we continue to keep the turkey in the oven for 20 minutes, but do not water it. We take out the finished turkey from the oven, let it stand for a while. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. We put the form in which the turkey was baked on the stove and heat for 5 minutes over medium heat. Let cool, remove the fat, add the onion and pour in the broth from the giblets. Boil the broth for 15 minutes over low heat, add aromatic additives. Then pour the sauce into a gravy boat and serve with the turkey.

Ready-to-bake turkey weighing 5.4 kg, giblets, 175 g softened sl. oil, one onion, cut into pieces, 1 orange, 6 sprigs of thyme. Cranberry-orange sauce: 250 g cranberries, 6 finely chopped strips of fried bacon, 3 oranges, 2 tablespoons of runny honey. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. We save offal for gravy. We put the turkey in a deep form, smear with butter, season well. Stuff with onion, orange, half thyme. Bake for 1 hour. When the turkey does not start to brown, cover with foil, bake for another 2-3 hours, pouring juice every 30 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and the remaining thyme. We take the turkey out of the oven, put all the sauce on top. Cover with foil, bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes until crispy. Remove from oven, cover lightly with foil. We shift the turkey to a dish, and use the juice from the mold for gravy.

The table is ready to celebrate. Let's continue to get acquainted with other American traditions.

Christmas presents

After a hearty festive dinner, Americans begin to get acquainted with Christmas gifts.

Americans are the nation that gives and receives the most gifts at Christmas. Gifts are placed under the Christmas tree throughout the holiday week.

And on Christmas night, all the kids also receive gifts from Santa Claus. The kids leave treats for Santa under the tree so that he doesn't get hungry.

And in small American towns there is a glorious tradition. There it is customary to visit each other and sing old Christmas songs. Children dressed in angel costumes sing Christmas carols and praise God and the birth of his son Jesus.

For many Americans, Christmas remains in its original religious content. On Christmas Eve, believers go to midnight services in the church. There, with a huge confluence of believers, the Christmas Mass or a re-enactment of the birth of Jesus Christ is performed.

There were times in the US when the Christmas holidays lasted 12 days, from the birth of Jesus to his baptism. Now the spirit of the approaching Christmas begins to soar right after Halloween. At this time, pre-holiday sales are arranged, they begin to decorate shop windows and houses. Each family, as it were, arranges competitions for the best decoration of the house.

Corporate Christmas Traditions in the USA

The corporate culture of Americans is closely connected with the Christmas holidays. All American firms in collectives start celebrating Christmas from mid-December. As a rule, corporate Christmas parties are held at the end of the week, where everyone congratulates each other, gives souvenirs, and drinks a little. At parties, everyone can dress up as Santa Claus and wish colleagues a Merry Christmas.

In general, I understood the most important thing. Christmas holidays in the USA reflect a lot of values inherent in a multinational people. They are unique, interesting and informative. I liked the celebration of American Christmas.

25.12.2012 12:39

The most important of new year holidays in the US, it's certainly Christmas. In the country, every family celebrates Marry Christmas with pleasure.

Today we would like to talk about how this holiday is celebrated in the United States of America.

So Christmas is Christian holiday dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ. In the USA, this, probably the main holiday of the country, is officially celebrated on December 25, but, as a rule, ordinary Americans celebrate it for several days in a row.

On this occasion in primary schools and colleges for children have a Christmas break that lasts until the New Year.

For Americans, Christmas today is, above all joyful holiday, which must be held in the family circle. It is customary to give gifts at Christmas. Relatives and friends, being at this moment far from home, tend to send Christmas gifts and cards with wishes for a Merry Christmas.

The main attribute of Christmas is the tree. The Americans put it in the largest room and decorate it with all kinds of toys and candles.

Unlike Russia, where the main character is Santa Claus, in the United States, children are waiting for Santa Claus, who will certainly come on Christmas night and bring a long-awaited gift. To do this, American children hang small stockings by the fireplaces, where Santa Claus puts gifts at night.

The tradition of hanging stockings on fireplaces originates from a legend according to which St. Nicholas gave poor dowry girls a purse of gold, putting his gifts in the stockings of the girls, which were hung out by the fireplace for the night to dry. Since then, little children believe that Santa Claus will come and also leave gifts for them in pre-arranged stockings.

Americans love to decorate their homes with holly, ivy and mistletoe on this holiday. These decorations came to the USA from England. So each of these plants, one way or another, is connected with the divine principle. For example, ivy represents immortality, holly inspires faith and hope in humanity, and mistletoe was considered a sacred plant long before the birth of Jesus Christ.

When it comes to Christmas food, in the US, the most important Christmas dish is roast turkey, as well as all kinds of cooked sweets, grandmother's cupcake recipes and much more. Turkey is cooked in every family here. Each family tries to cook the largest and most delicious turkey and invite relatives as much as possible. In addition, various sweets also predominate on the table.

Christmas in the United States is a federal holiday, an official day off.

Every country celebrates Christmas and New Year in their own way, sacredly adhering to the ancient traditions inherent in the nation. Things are quite different in the so-called "state of emigrants" - the United States of America. Native American traditions and rituals have undergone significant changes over time due to the multinationality of the state. Today, during the Christmas holidays, Americans combine secular and religious customs with family customs. The mixture of rituals and traditions makes Christmas in the USA special.

Every child knows what date Christmas is celebrated in America. It is celebrated on December 25th. The date of this holiday is unchanged. This is the most beloved, bright and significant holiday. Today, on this day, the streets, buildings, houses and trees are sparkling with decorations, store shelves are bursting with gifts, and children are looking forward to Santa Claus. But it was not always so. The mass holiday began to be celebrated only from the end of the 19th century. Prior to this, its celebration in the New World was completely banned.

Christmas became an official holiday in the United States only in 1870. The first National Christmas tree decorated the square in front of the White House only in 1891. And Christmas was recognized as a national holiday in 1895.

We celebrate like everyone else, but in our own way

Christmas in the USA can be safely called an international holiday, since the custom of decorating a Christmas tree came from Germany, and the Americans learned to sing Christmas carols from the British. The traditions of other nations, which were to the taste of the majority, turned over time into pan-American ones. But there are also those who wear truly family or national character, they are honored and observed by representatives of certain nationalities.

So, Poles living in the states, on the eve of the holiday, put hay on the floor and under the tablecloth, as a symbol of the bed in the barn where Jesus was born. On the festive table this evening there are: beetroot soup, various dishes of fish, vegetables, mushrooms, and a mixture of honey and poppy seeds, which is called "sweet meat", serves as a dessert.

Hungarians pay Special attention church service and cannot imagine a holiday without Christmas carols. For dinner that evening they prepare dumplings, rolls with nuts and poppy seeds, spiced biscuits and much more.

In the southern states, Christmas traditions are much more fun: Christmas Eve is celebrated there with salutes and fireworks. This is due to a belief that says that the roar from volleys scares away evil spirits. Hawaiian Santa Claus comes to children not on reindeer, but sails on a boat, in California - on a surfboard. And in New Mexico, houses, or rather their roofs, are lit up with lights that illuminate the path of Christ.

As noted this magical holiday northern regions? Everything is a little more original there, not at all like in America. In Alaska, for example, on the night of December 25, children walk in groups from house to house with songs and lanterns, they hold large stars made of shiny materials in their hands. The owners treat them with various sweets. The next day, these same evangelists, disguised as Herod's retinue, look everywhere for the baby Jesus in order to destroy him.

Christmas dishes

In America, the holiday begins with a family dinner: almost all Americans celebrate Christmas Eve with the whole family and always in the parental home. They sit down at the table only after the appearance of the first star in the sky. Before the start of the meal, prayers glorifying God are usually read. Then everyone should eat a piece of sacred bread.

At Christmas, Americans drink red wine, eat traditional dishes: cabbage and bean soup, homemade sausages, fish, potato pie. On the Christmas table there are certainly prunes and green peas - essential attributes. The main Christmas dish for Americans with Scottish roots is stuffed turkey.

For dessert, they eat sweet pudding or pie. In addition to wine, rum punch, brandy and an egg-nog cocktail are served on the table - a drink with the addition of cream, mashed yolk, and, if desired, something alcoholic.

About gifts

In America, gifts are one of the most important family traditions- Americans with great pleasure spend a lot of time in shopping and special centers in search of a cherished surprise.

The Christmas sales period begins on the fourth Thursday of November, after Thanksgiving. It is followed by the well-known Black Friday. For many, this day is a day off, and people rush headlong to the shops in order to have time to buy gifts for all their relatives, relatives and friends.

What can be gifts? Various: from greeting cards with the image of New Year and Christmas symbols and sweets to souvenirs and serious presents, often associated with hobbies or the field of human activity. Americans exchange gifts after the gala dinner.

And the New Year?

The week after Christmas is much calmer, as many US residents may have only one or two days off during this holiday period, everyone is looking forward to the New Year.

On this magical night, Americans are walking to the fullest. The main places of celebration are restaurants, clubs and theaters. Around is noisy and fun. Fireworks sparkle in the air, sirens and cars sound announcing the New Year, shots of champagne corks are heard everywhere, and residents have fun and congratulate each other on a festive event.

Vocabulary on the topic "Christmas"

Christmas (abbr. Xmas) ["krɪsməs] - Christmas (Christ's)
Christmas eve ["krɪsməsˌiːv] - Christmas Eve
Jesus ["ʤiːzəs] - Jesus Christ
new year [ˌnjuː"jɪəˌ-"jɜː] - new year
New Year's Day [ˌnjuːˌjɪəzˈdeɪ] - January 1
New Year's Eve [ˌnjuːˌjɪəzˈiːv] - December 31
Santa Claus [ˈsæn.təˌklɔːz] - Santa Claus
sleigh
reindeer ["reɪndɪə] - reindeer
(Christmas) holiday ["hɔlədeɪ] - holidays
Christmas tree ["krɪsməsˌtriː] - Christmas tree
fireplace ["faɪəpleɪs] - fireplace
mistletoe ["mɪsltəu] - mistletoe ( traditional decoration at home for Christmas
holly ["hɔlɪ] - holly (holly, evergreen with red fruits, Christmas decoration)
present ["prez (ə) nt] - gift
Father Christmas - Brit. Santa Claus, Santa Claus
Christmas stocking - stocking for Christmas gifts for children
Christmas cracker - cracker; Christmas-tree decorations - Christmas decorations
Christmas card - Christmas card
mince pie - sweet stuffed pie (from raisins, almonds)
Christmas pudding - Brit. Christmas pudding with candied fruits and spices
Christmas cake - Christmas cake (fruit)
turkey - turkey; candy cane - lollipop in the form of a stick
tinsel - sequins, tinsel;
ornament - decoration, ornament
candle - candle
chimney - pipe, chimney
jolly - cheerful, joyful, festive
jingle bell - bell, bell (in a horse harness)
firework - fireworks, salute.

Here it comes, the long-awaited Christmas! Stores are counting profits - more goods are sold in November-December than in all the remaining months!

An hour-long shopping marathon is over. Gifts for distant relatives have already been sent out, and for home ones they have been laid out in nominal socks, three hundred and seventy postcards have been signed - not a single relative or more or less familiar has been left without attention.

Prepared for a week of food (although cookies, no matter how many baked them, always end on the second day), destroyed tons of Christmas catalogs that began to arrive in the mail back in October.

The fluffy Christmas tree brightly sparkles with toys and drops needles, it is impossible to fall asleep because of the thousands of round-the-clock burning light bulbs hung around the house and around it.

All these are omens or, one might say, the attributes of modern American Christmas that have become routine. But has it always been like this? Let's turn to the history of this, probably the most colorful and important holiday for Americans.

Christmas

Initially, Christmas is a religious holiday.

Celebrating Christmas on December 25 began in the fourth century, presumably in 336. The Catholic Church needed a holiday that would overshadow rival pagan rituals that also threatened the Christian existence.

Despite the fact that the celebration of a person’s birthday in those distant times was considered unpopular and even indecent, the leaders of the church decided that since they were competing with the pagans, it would be quite appropriate to create such a holiday. Although Jesus was most likely born in spring or autumn, Catholics decided to declare Christ's birthday on December 25th, since the pagan Romans celebrated one of their main holidays - the birthday of the sun god - in December.

The word Christmas (Christmas) was formed from the words Cristes Maesse or Christ's Mass (Christian Mass).

In America, Christmas took root very slowly. In Colonial Massachusetts, the celebration was even forbidden. Puritans in America at one time tried to make Thanksgiving the most important holiday instead of Christmas.

Christmas Traditions in the USA

The religious celebration begins on the night of the twenty-fourth to twenty-fifth of December with a midnight mass. Next - a noisy feast, a birthday after all.

But this is just a diagram. Don't forget that America is a multinational country, so often how someone celebrates Christmas depends on where their grandparents were from.

For example, many Americans whose ancestors moved to America from Poland still keep their traditions. Before Christmas, they spread hay on the floor and under the tablecloth. This should remind them of the inn, stable and manger where Jesus was born. And no meat until the first star ("So after all, fasting, mother ...").

In the evening, as soon as the first star rises, the traditional Polish feast begins. Beet soup, a variety of fish, cabbage, mushrooms and "sweet meat" (not real meat, but sweets made from honey and poppy seeds) are traditional dishes for such a holiday.

Americans with Hungarian roots place great emphasis on church service and singing on Christmas Eve and Afternoon. Perhaps more than any other American, no matter where their ancestors come from. In the evening, they gather in their yards around decorated Christmas trees and wait for the first star to appear. After that, richly seasoned food is prepared: rolls with walnuts and poppy seeds, dumplings with honey and poppy seeds, cumin, sesame and anise biscuits.

In the south of the United States, Christmas is celebrated especially noisily: with fireworks and fireworks. Early settlers congratulated their neighbors in this way. It was also believed that evil spirits were expelled in this way.

A completely different tradition in cold Alaska. On Christmas night, groups of boys and girls with lanterns in their hands carry a large cardboard star decorated with pieces of colored paper from house to house. Children sing cheerful songs, and residents offer them refreshing drinks (and not at all what you thought - these are children, after all) and a snack. The next day, the children dress up as King Herod's retinue and try to kill the baby Jesus.

In New Mexico, the so-called Navajo nomadic peoples have a Big Meal Day during Kismus, a holiday given by friends of the Indians. Meat, beans, potatoes and onions are boiled in a large cauldron over a fire. Coffee with buns, donuts and bread complete the menu. In other parts of New Mexico, the streets and flat roofs of houses are generously illuminated by lights - candles in paper bags filled with sand. This is to light the way for the newborn Christ.

In 1924, the first national Christmas tree was grown in Washington. It is said that Martin Luther himself decorated the Christmas tree with burning candles for the first time. Since then, the President of the United States has solemnly lit the lights on this Christmas tree every year (remember the good old "One, two, three - burn the Christmas tree!").

Once upon a time, Christmas was celebrated for twelve days - exactly so many days passed from the birth of Christ to baptism. In colonial America, it was customary to have parties and weddings at this time. It is interesting that at that time almost no attention was paid to the meeting of the New Year. Now the "Christmas season" begins right after Halloween and ends with a family dinner on December 25th and distribution of gifts. The week after Christmas has lost its significance as the most cheerful and joyful week of the year - for most Americans it is only one or two days off.

At present, the original meaning of Christmas is almost lost. This holiday has become another reason to get together with the whole family, to make each other nice gifts, say pleasant words. At Christmas in America, everyone becomes a little kinder and more attentive to each other.

Holiday preparations have become a real industry. Very profitable, by the way. Almost everyone decorates their house or apartment for Christmas.

Most often, these are wreaths entwined with red and gold ribbons. spruce branches on the door and multi-colored light bulbs-lights on the windows. The owners of houses arrange entire exhibitions in front of their homes of figures of the Magi, angels, the Virgin Mary with a baby, or Santa Claus and his helpers.

Already in a month and a half you will see Christmas and New Year decorations in shop windows. It's like a competition - whose house, office or shop window is decorated more magnificently and will attract more curious looks.

If you get to America at this time, you will feel that everyone is in the holiday fever: children make a list of gifts, parents scurry around the shops in search of (gifts), excitedly discuss Christmas plans and holiday menus. Beef, goose, ham and turkey are especially popular on the festive table, and from drinks - whiskey, brandy, rum punch.

Indulge yourself in this mood - slowly walk the streets, occasionally stopping by the shops you like, sit in a cafe or restaurant, go to the theater and do not forget to buy gifts for your family and friends.

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In the US, one of the most anticipated holidays is Christmas. Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Church celebrate this day on December 25, with the only caveat that all churches celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar (i.e. modern), and the Orthodox according to the Julian. According to the latest on December 25, according to the old style, it falls on January 7, according to the new one.

It's no secret that in the USA (in my opinion and in Europe) Christmas is a more solemn and long-awaited holiday than the New Year.

In America, they prepare for it more carefully and reverently. Houses are decorated not only inside, but also outside.

These days, the interiors of American huts don't differ much from Russian ones. The main attributes here are the familiar spruce hung with glass, multi-colored balls, garlands, sweets and artificial snowflakes. The main distinguishing accent of American compositions from Russian ones is religious themes.

To the ever-red Santa Claus and his brown-silly deer are added airy, innocent angels, Jesus in the form of a baby and various biblical motifs.

The outdoor decorations of the houses cause more delight.

Photos of the brightest.

Last year we also decorated our hut. The purchase of garlands, Christmas trees, toys, decorations, extension cords, adapters cost us $500.

This time, my wife is on duty for Christmas in the hospital around the clock, so they refused to decorate the house.

Many Americans try to dress up their home. There are approximately 40% of houses on our street that have at least two garlands and one statue of Santa Claus or, at worst, a snowman (rubber snowman).