People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards and gift-giving. In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated.
Grapevine is the perfect place to create wonderful Christmas memories with your family and friends. You’ll be amazed at 40 days of unique and traditional Christmas events, as you see Grapevine sparkle with millions of lights, enormous decorations, animated characters and much more! While unlit Christmas trees can look like real trees, they can also take just as long to decorate. You can save time and effort with one of our pre-lit Christmas trees or fiber optic Christmas trees. Talk about convenient – just set one of these trees up, put on your favorite Christmas tree decorations, and that’s it, you’re done.
The Christmas sale has dozens of cute stocking stuffers for those Christmas stockings, so you can stock up now and save. Decorate your tree with Santa and character ornaments, gingerbread ornaments and a wide assortment of dazzling holiday designs. There are holiday bingo cards, whistles, stockings, dinner plates, place holders, wreaths and decorations to make your Christmas festive. Whether you like traditional-looking trees or colorful trees, including white Christmas trees, black Christmas trees, pink, purple, blue or rose gold – The Home Depot is sure to have your perfect match. Browse online or in store to see some of the many other unique styles we offer, including rainbow Christmas trees and eye-catching upside-down Christmas trees. Plus, since artificial Christmas trees are hypo-allergenic and don’t shed needles, they make an ideal option for families with pets or small children.
Christmas bedding or even a festive throw add warmth and holiday spirit to a bedroom or living room in moments. Add a cheery Santa figurine, or Father Christmas or Dickensian carolers together with a couple of Precious Moments flameless candles or other Christmas home décor to create a charming scene. The finest handcrafted glass Christmas ornaments featuring traditional holiday classics such as Santa Claus, snowmen, stockings, Christmas trees and religious inspirations to design. A winter wonderland designer-inspired collection of Christmas ornaments, ribbon, stems, and more. Find your perfect decoration including ice skate ornaments, furry frost friends, and snow covered pinecones.
Christmas is also often used to refer to the entire Christmas season, as in Even though it lasts for several weeks, Christmas always seems to go by so quickly. Generally, the season begins around the beginning of December, though some people in the U.S. begin to decorate or engage in Christmas festivities immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday or even before. The Christmas season coincides with the “holiday season,” which in the U.S. is popularly understood to include Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Due to its widespread observance, Christmas is one of the federal holidays in the U.S. Bring home a mix of traditional characters, exotic animals and mythical creatures, ready to help Santa share joy with the world. Nostalgic holiday icons and vintage signage will fill your home with the giddy joy of the season.
When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the “lord of misrule” and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects.
Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season organized around it. From classic Christmas cookie recipes to festive Christmas tree decorating ideas, you’ll find everything you need to celebrate the holiday. Get ready with pretty decorations—garlands, ornaments, and centerpieces, plus outdoor decorating ideas that start with Christmas wreaths and sparkling Christmas lights.