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Christmas Around the World Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25, is both a sacred religious holiday and a global cultural and commercial phenomenon. Exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends, and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive are all popular traditions. Americans re-invented Christmas, transforming it from a raucous carnival holiday to a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. Old traditions were rediscovered as Americans began to embrace Christmas as the ideal family holiday. People looked to recent immigrants, as well as Catholic and Episcopal churches, for guidance on how to observe the day. Over the next 100 years, Americans developed their own Christmas tradition, incorporating elements of many other customs such as tree decorating, holiday card sending, and gift-giving. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a classic holiday story. The story's message, about the importance of charity and good will toward all humanity, struck a powerful chord in the United States and England, demonstrating the benefits of celebrating the holiday to Victorians.
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