Christmas Traditions

Several of the celebrations in the United States that are linked
with Christmas had been traditions brought by German and English
immigrants. Along with the properly-identified and practiced tradition of a
brightly decorated Christmas tree, other traditions brought by these
immigrants consist of Advent calendars, Christmas greeting cards,
gingerbread houses and gingerbread cookies.
 Christmas in the United States today can be observed as focused
around family, travel, shopping and decorations.
 Family and travel go together throughout Christmas in the United
States due to the fact family members typically have to travel fairly lengthy
distances to be with each other at one location. The growth of cities
that have mainly economic activity, suburbs for residences, as well
as the truth of different industries becoming located in specific geographic
locations, are amongst the reasons that household members usually live excellent
distances from every other in separate states.
 Christmas and its festivities therefore present a wonderful
chance for many members of the household to collect in celebration and
see every single other in an intimate setting. The traveling involved makes the
Christmas season a busy time of the year for rail and air travel.
 The occasion of seeing numerous household members at Christmas is also
linked to the activity of shopping that is an essential feature of
Christmas in the United States. The Christmas season officially begins
on the Friday soon after Thanksgiving, recognized as Black Friday and which now

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ranks second in shopping for a single day to the Saturday prior to
Christmas.
Much of the shopping that is completed is to buy gifts for
buddies and family members. Gifts for loved ones members are generally exchanged
soon after dinner on Christmas day, when every person gathers in the room with
the Christmas tree. Gifts are normally left at the base of the Christmas
tree in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day.
 Gifts may possibly also exchanged just before Christmas at parties held by
pals and parties held at workplaces.
 Second to gifts, shopping is also done at Christmas for
decorations. Although the Christmas tree may well be the centerpiece of
attraction, garlands, wreaths, candles and decorative lighting placed
outside on lawns or along rooflines are also employed to generate a beautiful
holiday appearance for homes.
 Canadians appreciate Christmas activities that are comparable to those
celebrated in the United States. That is so due to the fact in the 1700s when
some German immigrants in the United States migrated to Canada, they
continued to practice numerous of the activities connected with Christmas.
The geographical proximity of the two countries also indicates they share
many items, so similarities in Christmas traditions wouldn’t be an
exception.
 One thing that accounts for the difference between the two
countries even so, is the Eskimo population in Canada. Eskimos in
Canada celebrate a festival for the duration of winter and have other traditions
that are absent from American Christmas celebrations.
 A practice also exists in Nova Scotia in which tiny groups of
masked people march around about two weeks ahead of Christmas. These
masked groups attract attention by developing stir with significantly bell ringing
and engaging in a noisy caper in an aim to get candy, sweets and
goodies from onlookers.
 This tradition bears some similarity to Jonkonoo celebrations in
the neighboring islands of the Caribbean. Those celebrations also
involve masked people, including some that appear on stilts that
make them as tall as trees. The parade of Jonkonoo regale onlookers
with numerous antics and present a minor scare to some kids, who are
then calmed with candies and other treats.
 In Nova Scotia, onlookers can attempt to calm the noise and rowdiness
just a little if they can properly guess the identity of the masked
individual. A right guess puts an end to the noise as the mask is
removed, exposing the individual. For their portion, maskers also play
nice by friendly nudging answers from children about whether they have
been naughty or nice and handing out candies and treats accordingly.

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