An American Christmas

An American

Christmas

Table of Contents

What do you think? 1

Vocabulary 2

An American Christmas 3-19

What did you learn? 20

Activity One 20-25

Activity Two 23

Activity Three 26-27

What do you think?

1. How many Americans Christmas?

celebrate

2. When did people start celebrating Christmas?

3. What is mistletoe?

.... ..................................................

Vocabulary

Celebrate

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

What do you think?

89%

of Americans celebrate Christmas

What do you think?

In 396, Pope Leo X officially said that Christmas would be celebrated every year on December 25.

What do you think?

Mistletoe is a plant that says green all year, so people can with it.

decorate

If two people who love eachother stand under mistletoe they hug or kiss.

traditionally

Vocabulary

Decorate

To decorate is to make a place or a thing look pretty.

You can decorate with lots of colors, lights, or pictures.

Vocabulary

Tradition

A tradition is something you do over and over again for a special reason.

Vocabulary

1. Tradition

2. Stocking

3. Present

4. Celebrate

5. Decorate

Vocabulary

Celebrate

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Vocabulary

Present

A present is a gift, or something that someone gives you.

Vocabulary

Stocking

A stocking is a big sock.

Vocabulary

Tradition

A tradition is something you do over and over again for a special reason.

Vocabulary

Decorate

To decorate is to make a place or a thing look pretty.

You can decorate with lots of colors, lights, or pictures.

An American Christmas

Christmas is a special day

• Christmas is a special day

and it is very important to many people in America.

• and it is very important to many people in America.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

celebrate

An American Christmas

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Many Americans celebrate Christmas by giving presents to others.

An American Christmas

Many families decorate a Christmas tree. The presents go under the tree.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

On Christmas day, people give the presents under the tree to friends and family.

An American Christmas

The tradition of giving presents started with Saint Nicolas.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Saint Nicolas lived in Germany in 1285. He gave presents to children who were very poor.

An American Christmas

One day, some children had left their stockings to dry on the fireplace.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Saint Nicolas quietly left presents for the children in their stockings.

An American Christmas

Today, American children still leave their stockings by the fireplace for Saint Nicolas.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

American children call Saint Nicolas Santa Claus.

But Santa is very different from in 1285.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

Amercian writer, Washington Irving published a story about Santa in 1809. His book made Santa famous in America, and all over the world.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

A few years later, in 1823, Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem called The Night Before Christmas .

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

The Night Before Christmas tells that Santa goes all around the world giving presents to children.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

The poem says that Santa flies in a sleigh.

An American Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

not a creature was stirring,

not even a mouse.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

The stockings were hung

by the chimney with care,

in hopes that St. Nicholas

soon would be there.”

An American Christmas

Americans also celebrate Christmas with songs.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Christmas songs are very traditional during Christmas. Sometimes Christmas songs are called Christmas carols.

An American Christmas

One tradition at Christmas time is to go walking around town, singing Christmas

carols to

people.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

Some Christmas carols

are traditional and

people have

been singing

them for

many years.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

Some people

sing new Christmas carols.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

An American Christmas

One popular Christmas carol is “Jingle Bells.”

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

But everyone has their own favorite Christmas carols.

An American Christmas

Americans celebrate Christmas in many different ways.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

What traditions have you learned about?

What did you learn?

1.

What do people call traditional Christmas songs?

2. What poem first wrote about Santa Claus's flying sleigh?

3. Where do American children hang their stockings to get presents from Santa Claus?

What did you learn?

1.

What do people call traditional Christmas songs?

Christmas carols

What did you learn?

2. What poem first wrote about Santa Claus's flying sleigh?

The Night Before Christmas

What did you learn?

3.

Where do American children hang their stockings to get presents from Santa Claus?

American children hang their stockings by the fireplace.

Activity 1

Use the clues on the next pages to put the right words in the boxes.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Activity 1

Down

1. Families sometimes _______ a Christmas tree to make it look pretty.

2. Something that people do over and over again for many years for a special reason.

3. The story of ______ started with Saint Nicolas.

4. At Christmas, people give ____ to eachother.

8. Jingle Bells is a popular Christmas _____.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Activity 1

Across

5. At Christmas time, people sometimes kiss under this green plant.

6. The Night Before Christmas is a ____ about Santa Claus.

7. Children leave a _______ by the fireplace to get presents from Santa.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Activity 1

Here are the answers.

Decorate

tradition

Santa

presents

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

l

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m

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s

P

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carol

s

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Activity 2

“ We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is a traditional Christmas Carol.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Listen to the words.

Everytime you hear the words on the next slide, sing along.

Activity 2

We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;

Good tidings for Christmas

and a Happy New Year.

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Activity 3

Draw a line from the picture to the word..

Christmas Tree

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Stocking

Present

Santa Claus

Mistletoe

Activity 3

Here are the answers.

Christmas Tree

To celebrate is to do something special or fun, like having a party.

Stocking

Present

Santa Claus

Mistletoe

Great Job!

You've learned so much. Now, there's just one more thing...

Merry Christmas!