On December 25th, Christmas is celebrated. Christmas is a religious and cultural holiday. It wasn’t celebrated in the United States until the 1700s but became a federal holiday in 1870. Christmas consist of popular customs such as exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, and attending church. Christians are known to celebrate Christmas as the birthday anniversary of Jesus. Christmas can also be celebrated secularly, without religion. The origin of Santa Clause is traced back to a man named St. Nicholas. He was born around A. D. 280, in Turkey. He traveled the countryside giving away his inherited wealth helping the sick and poor. In the late 18th century, St. Nicholas was introduced into American culture when Dutch families gathered to honor his death anniversary. In 1822, minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote the Christmas poem popularly known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” In 1881, Thomas Nast created the image of Old Saint Nick based on the poem. His drawing created the Santa Clause we know today. More information about the history of Christmas can be read here.
