An American Christmas

A Culture Capsule by Claire Walter

An American Christm as

Table of Contents What do you think? Vocabulary

1 2

An American Christmas 3-19 What did you learn? 20 Activity One

20-25

Activity Two

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Activity Three

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What do you think? 1. How many celebrate Americans Christmas? 2. When did people start celebrating Christmas? 3. What is mistletoe? .... ................................ .................. 1

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 decoratecan with it. If two people who love eachother stand under mistletoe they traditionally hug or kiss.

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.

Decorat e 2

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 Stockin Agstocking 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 and it is very important to many people in America.

Americans celebrate Christmas in many different ways. 3

An American Christmas

Many Americans celebrate Christmas by giving presents to others. 4

An American Christmas Many families decorate a Christmas tree. The presents go under the tree. On Christmas day, people give the presents under the tree to friends and family. 5

An American Christmas The tradition of giving presents started with Saint Nicolas.

Saint Nicolas lived in Germany in 1285. He gave presents to children who were very poor. 6

An American Christmas

One day, some children had left their stockings to dry on the fireplace. Saint Nicolas quietly left presents for the children in their stockings. 7

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

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An American Christmas American children call Saint Nicolas Santa Claus. But Santa is very different from in 1285.

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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. 10

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

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

The poem says that Santa flies in a sleigh. 12

An American Christmas 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

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An American Christmas Americans also celebrate Christmas with songs. Christmas songs are very traditional during Christmas. Sometimes Christmas songs are called Christmas carols.

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An American Christmas One tradition at Christmas time is to go walking around town, singing Christmas carols to people.

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An American Christmas Some Christmas carols are traditional and people have been singing them for many years.

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An American Christmas Some people sing new Christmas carols.

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An American Christmas One popular Christmas carol is “Jingle Bells.”

But everyone has their own favorite Christmas carols. 18

An American Christmas Americans celebrate Christmas in many different ways.

What traditions have you learned about?

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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? 20

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.

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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 _____. 22

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.

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Activity 1 D e c t o r r a a d m i s t l e t i P o e m n

Here are the answers.

S p a r n e t o e s a e n s t o c k i n g s a r o l 24

Activity 2

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is a traditional Christmas Carol. Listen to the words. Everytime you hear the words on the next slide, sing along. 25

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. 26

Activity 3 Draw a line from the picture to the word.. Christmas Tree Stocking Present Santa Claus Mistletoe

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Activity 3 Here are the answers.

Christmas Tree Stocking Present Santa Claus Mistletoe

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Great Job!

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

Merry Christmas !