Artificial Christmas trees, sappy decorations, waving Santa’s and a lot of colorful lights: Christmas time is here. It starts short after Thanksgiving, the houses get decorated inside and outside, colorful, festively or kitschy and sometimes as well everything together. The Christmas tree gets set up and decorated and is glowing for the next month in the parlor.

No matter if it is an artificial or a fresh-cut one, yep you can buy them here as well or cut them fresh on a Christmas tree farm up in the North Carolina’s “mountains”, both will be graced with string lights. Proper candles are out of question – Christmas tree safety roles. Often the Americans decorate their tree with old heirlooms or keepsakes. There could be hanging the mothers first bootie right next to grandfathers pipe and juniors first spoon is surrounded with grandmothers last crochet craft. Anything is possible, beautiful big trees where you can find always something new, when you’re taking your time to look precisely.

They don’t know our Nikolaus here, so nobody brings nuts, tangerines and chocolate on the 6th of December. At Christmas Eve the Americans go often to church and after they have dinner together. It’s time for the second turkey of the year. The presents are ready for unwrapping in the morning of the 25th, at Christmas day. Santa brings them all in the night before. He creeps through the chimney into the house and fills the prepared stockings brimful with presents. Often the kids place a glass of milk and some cookies in front of the fireplace, there with he gets new energy for his hard work.

It’s an important habit to send Christmas cards to family, friends and relatives. Often they include in addition to festive photos a review with all the family highlights from the past year.

I really love the American way of Christmas and I wish you all a colorful, sappy and wonderful Christmas season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukkah, Super Solstice, Hurray, Joyous Kwanzaa or religious free: Happy Holiday or rather Seasons greetings.

Finally: Xmas isn’t only a shortcut of Christmas, the X stand for the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.