Christmas in the United States of America
There are lots of different cultures and traditions in the USA. Christmas is celebrated in many ways. Unfortunately, this holiday is very short in this country. Christmas lasts there only one day! People have to go to work when Poland is still celebrating. Christmas trees are thrown away really quickly and decorations are hidden for the next year. Shops offer even better sales than before Christmas and people starts to prepare New Year’s Eve.
Americans start to prepare for Christmas after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. On Black Friday the Christmas shopping is officially started. Lots of shops offer unbelievable discounts for early birds eg. from 3am. to 12. They can’t imagine Christmas without a pile of presents under the Christmas tree. The tree is usually bought at the end of November. People decorate it a day after Thanksgiving. Like in Poland, this is the main Christmas decoration, yet there are also many different decorations such as: figurines of snowman, Santa Claus and candles. The stairs are decorated with spruce garlands, under the ceiling there is a mistletoe and stockings for small presents are hung on the fireplace. That’s not all. On the front door, there has to be a Christmas wreath and you can’t forget about lights to decorate the house outside. In front of the house, every American should place reindeers and snowmen. Everywhere you can hear Christmas carols and wishes eg. Merry Christmas.
Although, the material side of Christmas is really important for Americans, they spend that time for family meetings and entertainment. Most companies organize Christmas parties. Concerts and choir carol shows are very popular.