How is Christmas celebrated in the USA?
The United States of America has many different traditions and ways that people celebrate Christmas.
Many customs are similar to the ones in the UK, France, Italy, Holland, Poland and Mexico.
The traditional meal for Western European families is turkey or ham with cranberry sauce.
Families from Eastern European origins favour turkey with trimmings, keilbasi (a Polish sausage), cabbage dishes, and soups; and some Italian families prefer lasagne!
Making gingerbread houses to eat at Christmas is also popular.
Some Americans use popcorn threaded on a string to help decorate their Christmas tree! Cookies and a glass of milk are often put out for Santa on Christmas Eve.
People in America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and sometimes even statues of Santa Claus, snowmen and reindeer.
Towns and cities often decorate the streets with lights to celebrate Christmas. Perhaps the most famous Christmas street lights in the USA are at the Rockefeller Center in New York.
There is a huge Christmas tree with a public ice skating rink in front of it over Christmas and the New Year.
Many people in America will go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus. There are also Christmas services held where people can go and sing Christmas carols.
Fun fact
Santa is called Kanakaloka in Hawaii!
