Christmas

Christmas is a most important religious holy day for Christians, who
attend special church services to celebrate the birth of Jesus of
Nazareth. Christmas is not only a religious holy day, but became one
of the first federal holidays in 1870. On this day most businesses and
offices remain closed and the greatest possible number of workers,
including government employees, have the day off. Many places even
close early on the day before.
Naturally Christians observe Christmas according to the traditions of
their particular church. Besides the strictly religious traditions,
however, other common Christmas practices are observed by people who
are not religious or who are not Christian. In this way, some
Christmas traditions have become American traditions.
Gift-giving is so common at Christmas time that for most stores it
means a sharp increase in sales. Stores, in fact, are full of shoppers
from Thanksgiving time in late November until the day before
Christmas. This situation has caused many religious people to complain
that the religious meaning of Christmas is being subverted, that
Christmas has become "commercial." Despite the criticism, Christmas
shopping is a major activity of many Americans in the month of
December. Gifts are given to children, members of the family and close
friends. They are given to people who have done favors to others or
who work for them. Some people bake cookies or make candies or other
special food treats for friends and neighbors. Many businesses give
their workers a Christmas "bonus" - gifts of extra money - to show
appreciation for their work. Christmas is also a time when most
Americans show great generosity to other less fortunate than they.
They send money to hospitals or orphanages or contribute to funds that
help the poor.
It would be easy enough to imagine Christmas as a simple continuum of
tradition dating from the birth of Christ. You'd begin with the
nativity story, apply the December 25th date to Jesus' birth,
establish the gift-giving precedent of the magi and work from there.
Over the centuries, classic Christmas traditions would accumulate:
perhaps beginning with the yule log, followed by the Christmas tree
and finally winding up in the present day with giant inflatable
snowmen and icicle lights.
http://usa.usembassy.de/holidays-xmas.htm