Christmas! An American Tradition!

Folks who applied for the Green Card Lottery in October and are hoping for a Christmas visa, will unfortunately have to wait until May for their confirmation number to be announced. It has been said, though, and no truer than now, that it’s better late than never.

Christmas is an American tradition that can be traced back to immigrants from Europe over the course of the continent’s history. Though Christmas is technically a Christian holiday, it can be traced back to pre-Christian European celebrations and traditions. These celebrations normally addressed the meteorological event of the end of darkening hours during the days and the increase of light in anticipation of spring, a very welcome thing for ancient peoples, indeed!

These traditions were so strongly engraved into European peoples that when Christianity began to become popular over a millennium ago, the religion simply began to adapt the customs.

Over the years many generations have added to the folklore involved in the holiday and have added a great wealth of symbolism to it. Christmas is a time of peace, it is an occasion for showing love to the people one cares about, and it is a time for people—and especially children—to appreciate the wonderment of the season.

Since these ideas don’t necessitate a strictly religious background, Christmas has become a secular holiday as well as a religious holiday. It is a national holiday and therefore many people are given a day off from work to go home and be with their families.

Some of the traditions involved in the holiday season that you might want to participate in as a new resident of the United States might be gift giving, decorating a Christmas tree in your home, cooking a Christmas feast or volunteering at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.