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The Feel-Good Guide to Sports, Travel, Shopping & Entertainment
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| Main | Sports Events | Holidays & Observances | Pop Culture | Shopping | Travel |
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MAIN
Christmas rings out joyously over the airways, lights up the night sky, and put smiles on the faces of children everywhere across America. But it wasn't always thus - as 17th century Pilgrims frowned upon seasonal cheer throughout the strictly Puritan Massachussetts colony which, at one point, banned Christmas in Boston! In 1836, Alabama became the first state to celebrate the holiday legally by official proclamation. By 1863, the White House in Washington D.C. displayed its first official Christmas tree. Eventually, as the country opened its doors to waves of immigrants, Old World traditions were incorporated into communities everywhere across the U.S. in the good will spirit of an American Christmas. Today, Christmas may be celebrated in ways as diverse as the population — from devout candle-lit Las Posadas processions in New Mexico to a famous full-tilt computerized light show outside a home in Iowa. Meanwhile, seasonal customs continue to endure in places like Swedish Minnesota and Cajun Louisiana, and a wide variety of secular and traditional celebrations remain a magnet for millions in New York City. This year, discover the gamut of American seasonal traditions as communities nationwide turn on the lights for the holidays. Just up ahead, find out more about illuminated parades, Nutcracker ballet performances, fireworks displays, street caroling, Dickens festivals, winter sleigh rides, choir services, and long-awaited visits with Santa in all 50 states, plus more about Christmas around the world ...
Christmas Around the World also see -> Christmas in Australia | Christmas in Canada
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Christmas in the Northeast & New England
Christmas
in the Midwest
Christmas
in the Southern U.S.A.
Christmas
in the Western U.S.A.
