下载后可任意编辑Merry Christmas1 The winter holiday season is the most festive time of the year in the United States. Students from elementary school through college have about two weeks' vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas and ending soon after New Year's Day. Many families go away for the holidays, but those who stay home have fun, too. There are many parties to celebrate the birth of Christ and the arrival of the New Year.2 In America, the spirit of Christmas arrives about a month before the holiday itself. Late in November, street lights and store windows are decorated with the traditional Christmas colors of red and green. Santa Claus, shepherd and angel scenes appear in shop windows. Winter scenes with snowmen, sleighs, skaters, and skiers decorate cards and windows.3 The manufacture and sale of Christmas items is big business. Stores depend on Christmas shoppers for about one-fourth of their annual sales. Smart shoppers buy 下载后可任意编辑their gifts far in advance, before the Christmas rush makes shopping a chore.4 Although Americans enjoy the commercial friendliness of Christmas, the most beautiful and meaningful parts of the holiday occur at home. Many families gather around the tree and open their gifts. Then they sit down to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner turkey or ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. Dessert is usually fruit cake, plum pudding, or apple pie.5 Most of the Christmas customs which Americans enjoy today are variations of traditions brought here by European immigrants. These are some of the most popular customs:6 Exchanging Gifts. The first Christmas gifts were those that the Three Wise Men brought to the infant Jesus. In the United States,...
