The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were even more orthodox than the ones who had briefly caused Christmas to be outlawed in England. Christmas was not celebrated officially until 1681, and anyone who was discovered celebrating the holiday was forced to pay a five shilling fine. After the American Revolution, the holiday, which was considered an English custom, fell even further out of favor, and Christmas was not declared a federal holiday until 1870.

Author Washington Irving, best known for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and other tales, is credited with revitalizing the interest in Christmas in America with the publication of The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent. In 1891. The book was a series of short stories about a squire who invites peasants to his house to celebrate the holiday with him, and reinforced the idea that Christmas was about giving and sharing with friends and loved ones.

Another classic Christmas story was also written during this time in England, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Both of these books coincided with the Victorian ideals of family and childhood, and parents began to feel that they could give presents to their children without spoiling them, and saw Christmas as a perfect opportunity to do so. Old and new traditions blended together, and people began sending Christmas cards, decorating trees, giving gifts, and caroling.

Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus was first mentioned in the 15th century, but it would be a few centuries before this character, loosely based on an actual person, Nicholas of Myrna, would evolve into the jolly, red suited gift bringing, modern day Santa Claus. Christmas trees are usually explained as pagan traditions, originating from the Winter Solstice, when evergreen boughs and the pagan worship of trees were both in common practice during festivals. The modern Christmas tree tradition is said to have begun in Germany in the 18th Century, and from Germany, the custom was introduced to England. Other popular Christmas plants, including the poinsettia, holly, mistletoe, and amaryllis, like the evergreen, retain their color year round, and were featured in pagan celebrations as well.

Today, people all over the world celebrate Christmas in different ways, from the strict observation of the birth of Jesus, to the secularized holiday of Santa, and all combinations in between. Christmas is seen as the time to enjoy the company of friends and family members and create new and lasting family traditions that can be passed on to future generations.

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