Another thing about America to be thankful:

4. American Christmas          
An American Christmas is something to be thankful for. I have all kinds of memories that I associate with Christmas. My Dad’s family always did Christmas up big, having Santa bring not only the presents but the tree and all the decorations with it. Christmas Eve was the beginning of Christmas, but poor Grandma and Grandpa got no sleep. My mom said no way to that tradition, so we went with the tree going up a couple weeks before Christmas and coming down just after New Years. But all that tradition still provided its own magic for me as a kid. And I know I’m not alone because we have tons of shared American Christmas experiences that should be enjoyed, and none of them include Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

            Let’s start with Santa Claus. Everyone else’s Father Christmas was turned into the American Santa Claus by the New York Dutch and their way of saying St. Nicholas. Santa was further enhanced by Thomas Nast, the artist that gave Santa his pipe and bag of toys over his back. And the Columbia professor, Clement Clarke Moore, described Santa and his reindeer with his “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem. The Coca Cola Corporation added a few accents to the already timeless figure with plenty of advertisements.

            And Bing Crosby? Who doesn’t  dream of a white Christmas? Even Californians, Hawaiians, Floridians and all the other southerners who may have never even seen snow dream of a white Christmas. Thanks Bing. And since World War II all Americans (no matter their faith) want to be home for Christmas. We sing about it every year to the point of nausea, but we love it anyway. And Hollywood adds all those special movies every year. We can’t not love Christmas.

            Pumpkin pie? Of course that’s American. And sleigh rides? In Europe they don’t even have sleighs, they have sledges. How could you be merry in a sledge, no matter how many horses pulled it?

            These are just a few of the stand out American Christmas traditions. So these next few nights when you walk down the street (ok, drive—we’re American) and see houses lit up with fantastic displays you are, indeed, enjoying an American Christmas. Our Christmas in America is like nowhere else in the world and I, for one, am thankful for it. So wherever you are, I hope you have a very merry Christmas this year.