{"id":12343,"date":"2022-12-21T06:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T12:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/?p=12343"},"modified":"2022-12-16T18:53:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T00:53:15","slug":"how-25-christmas-traditions-got-their-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/how-25-christmas-traditions-got-their-start\/","title":{"rendered":"How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learn why we decorate trees, swap cookies, and hide pickles and elves, among other Christmas traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History.com<\/a> | by LESLEY KENNEDY<\/a> | UPDATED:DEC 22, 2021 | ORIGINAL:DEC 17, 2019 | Shield Insurance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From its Puritan roots to complaints of rampant commercialism (\u201cWhat is it you want?\u201d Charlie Brown asks Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em>. \u201cReal Estate.\u201d), Christmas<\/a> in America has been filled with traditions, old and new. Some date back to 16th-century Germany or even ancient Greek times, while others have caught on in modern times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at 25 ways Americans have celebrated the Christmas season, from singing songs and reciting poems to decorating trees and swapping cookies to drinking eggnog and wearing ugly sweaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas Trees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages, with German and other European settlers popularizing Christmas trees in America by the early 19th century. A New York\u00a0woodsman named Mark Carr<\/a>\u00a0is credited with opening the first U.S. Christmas tree lot in 1851. A 2019 survey by the\u00a0American Christmas Tree Association<\/a>, predicted that 77 percent of U.S. households displayed a Christmas tree in their home. Among the trees on display, an estimated 81 percent were artificial and 19 percent were real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rockettes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 1925, first known as the Missouri Rockets, this iconic dance troupe has been kicking up its heels, officially becoming the\u00a0Radio City Music Hall Rockettes<\/a>\u00a0in 1934. From performing at movie openings to entertaining troops to making TV appearances, they\u2019re perhaps best known for their annual\u00a0Christmas Spectacular<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Decades later, it may be hard to imagine that this beloved TV special inspired by Charles Schulz\u2019s\u00a0Peanuts<\/em>\u00a0comic strip was first rejected by CBS executives. But when it finally aired on December 9, 1965,\u00a0almost half of all U.S. TV sets<\/a>\u00a0were tuned to the broadcast, and the show went on to win an Emmy, a Peabody, an enduring following, and even a trend of \u201cCharlie Brown\u201d Christmas trees. \u201cI never thought it was such a bad little tree,\u201d Linus says in the special. \u201cIt’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas Pickles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s a pickle among your snowman, angel, and reindeer ornaments, you\u2019re likely taking part in the American tradition of hiding the green ornament on the tree, so that the first child to find it wins a gift, or gets to open the first present Christmas morning. The practice\u2019s origins are a bit murky (or should that be briny?), but, it\u2019s\u00a0likely it grew\u00a0from a Woolworth’s marketing gimmick from the late 1800s when the retailer received imported German ornaments shaped like a pickle and needed a sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elf on the Shelf<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Love it or loathe it, since 2005, moms and dads have either joyously or begrudgingly been hiding a toy elf each night from Thanksgiving to Christmas. More than 13 million elves have been \u201cadopted\u201d since 2005 when Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell, published the book\u00a0Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition\u00a0<\/em>that comes with the toy. Social media has even inspired some parents to set up elaborate scenarios for their elves\u2014as in He TP\u2019d the tree! She filled the sink with marshmallows!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yule Log<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yule logs were part of ancient winter solstice celebrations, but it was Americans who turned the wood burning into must-see TV. Back in 1966, WPIX-TV in New York City aired a continuous 17-second loop of a fireplace for three hours along with holiday music. That led to eventual better production and nearly 20 years of annual viewing. Today, you can view the yule log on demand and on the web. (In fact, HISTORY offers its own\u00a0yule log themed to the series\u00a0Forged in Fire.<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t miss the rest of the list!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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