History UsefulNotes / ChristmasInAmerica

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[note]]and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...[[/note]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was once common, but in TheNewTens the start is often even earlier in the day...if not midnight or earlier on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay evening itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices.\\

The name is thought to come from the expression "in the black," which means turning a profit: these sales often secure a store's fortunes for the year. However, in recent years the "black" has come to indicate the [[DarkIsEvil darker side of the day]]. These sales are SeriousBusiness to many people, to the point that fights have broken out at them -- there have even been occasional ''deaths'' since 2008. Even before that the term often had rather a different meaning to actual employees, who regard it with all the dread of [[TheGreatDepression Black Sunday]]; even when people don't get killed, physical assault is not as uncommon as one might expect. (A notorious 2011 incident in California had a shopper unleashing ''pepper spray'' on her rivals.)

* '''Christmas/Holiday/Winter Break:''' [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad No matter what they call it]] (Winter Break is usually the most common, especially in college for reasons explained below), [[AmericanEducationalSystem schools across the country]] shut down for a break in December. Most primary and secondary schools close on the 23rd or the last Friday before Christmas, and reopen on the first Monday after New Year's Day, or on January 2nd or 3rd. At most colleges and universities, the fall semester ends in early-mid December and the winter break ends sometime in the middle of January. (This kicks off what is known as the "spring" semester, which is oddly named given that, in a fair number of places in North America, January-early April can be the worst part of winter.)

* '''{{Christmas Special}}s:''' While the UK's Christmas [=TV=] specials are usually special episodes of regular programs, the phrase refers to original, stand-alone shows in the US. Each year brings along a new batch of such shows, ranging from VarietyShow specials toplining a popular celebrity (often a musician) to animated shows such as ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', the various RankinBassProductions specials, and ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas''. The most popular have been repeated annually by the big networks for '''decades''' now. The former are one-off shows, though some performers, such as Andy Williams and Music/JohnnyCash, were famous for doing a new special each year for a stretch of time. Meanwhile many regular scripted shows, especially sitcoms and cartoons, will do a ChristmasEpisode of their own. (See ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, MallSanta, and HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas for particularly popular stock plots.)
* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like Lifetime (which takes a break from its [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek usual formula]]) and Hallmark Channel produce their own Christmas films each year and have been at it long enough that they just hand over prime time and the weekends to both reruns and newbies. In TheNewTens they tend to start airing in November. Most of these are based on a simple concept (a lovable dog brings a family together, a RomanticComedy set during the season, the various permutations of SavingChristmas, etc.) or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" song launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', ''NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''MiracleOn34thStreet'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''ItsAWonderfulLife'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only Creator/{{NBC}} runs it.

** Creator/PBSKidsSprout's "Snooze-a-Thon" is esseitally a variation on this. Beginning in 2008, Sprout began airing this beginning at 6 P.M. Eastern on Christmas Eve and into the wee morning hours of Christmas. It features a loop of clips of characters from the various programs offered by the network sleeping (including ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'', ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' and Nina and Star, the hosts of ''The Goodnight Show''), scored with relaxing music. The idea is that since Santa "knows when you are sleeping," this program will help children get to sleep, rather than irresponsibly airing programming that would otherwise keep them awake. For those that get an On Demand service, this program is offered year-round.

** The point is, this means that those working in retail will find themselves just as likely to be yelled at by customers for saying "Merry Christmas" '''or''' "Happy Holidays". You can't win, and things can get truly ridiculous from there, as pointed out in this exchange in the Website/SomethingAwful discussion boards:
--> A Fancy 400 Lbs: "I've been wishing various people Merry Christmas today, and I've had multiple people bitch me out because it's Christmas '''EVE''' and not Christmas DAY -- and therefore not Christmas."
--> Dr. Kyle Farnsworth: "If (they are) the conservative type, they've spent the past couple years getting their panties in a wad about THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS where people (LIBRULS!!!) are saying Happy Holidays because they hate Jesus/America/Apple Pie and actually don't want to celebrate Christmas at all. But if they must they'll make it an ''evil'' secular holiday and then there'll be no religion ever. The Christmas I spent in Alabama I went trolling by wishing everyone Happy Holidays and [[SeriousBusiness at least 50% went red-faced and spluttering.]]"

** It should be noted at this point that some Americans a) don't mind saying "Happy Holidays", because there's more than one religion in the world and the people who think there is a War on Christmas need to get over it, but who also b) find things like the "Holiday Tree", "Winter Workshop", and so forth in ''FarmVille'' [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad a little excessive.]]
** Not to mention that, political correctness aside, just going by American federal holidays alone, there are three major holidays within five weeks (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years). So you could say "Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New years", or you could just say "Happy Holidays" [[TheDailyShow because you've got]] [[PrecisionFStrike shit to do.]]

* '''Amusement/Theme Parks:''' If located in a climate that allows for year-round operation, they will play up the season as much as possible. The American DisneyThemeParks (and their rivals such as Universal) enjoy their biggest crowds this time of year, and are famous for their special decorations, parades (the one at Walt Disney World is pretaped and televised Christmas Day), fireworks, and shows. Even ''rides'' can be altered for the season -- Disneyland has a Haunted Mansion overlay themed to ''TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', for instance.

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[note]]and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...[[/note]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was once common, but in TheNewTens the start is often even earlier in the day...if not on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay night itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices.\\

The name stems from the expression "in the black," which means turning a profit: these sales often secure a store's fortunes for the year. However, in recent years the name has taken on a darker connotation. These sales are SeriousBusiness to many people, to the point that fights have broken out at them -- there have even been occasional ''deaths'' since 2008. Even before that the term often had rather a different meaning to actual employees, who regard it with all the dread of [[TheGreatDepression Black Sunday]]; even when people don't get killed, physical assault is not as uncommon as one might expect. (A notorious 2011 incident in California had a shopper unleashing ''pepper spray'' on her rivals.)
** ''Last-Minute Shopping:'' Oh hell yes, the most American of traditions. Even with a whole month to take care of things, there's always a sizable group of Americans who know that their gift will be on the shelves for a while and expect people to be shopping for gifts on Christmas Eve through midnight on Christmas Day. Due to this, the busiest shopping day of the season is '''not''' Black Friday but a day much closer to Christmas, usually the [[http://money.howstuffworks.com/black-friday-shopping1.htm last Saturday before.]]

* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime]] and the Hallmark Channel produce their own films for this purpose each year and have been at it long enough that they each can fill a whole month's worth of prime time with them -- in 2012 Hallmark started running weekend marathons of their Christmas movies in November. Most of these are based on a simple concept (a lovable dog helps save Christmas, a RomanticComedy with cute kids bringing the leads together, the various permutations of SavingChristmas, etc.) or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" song launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', ''NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''MiracleOn34thStreet'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''ItsAWonderfulLife'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only Creator/{{NBC}} runs it.
** Christmas Day itself is a busy day at movie theaters, so several big-ticket releases usually open on the day or in time to hopefully cash in. Christmas-''themed'' movies usually open in November to capitalize on seasonal excitement (if a Christmas movie hits big, it can run for weeks on end). Of course, due to their theme, this means that they movies won't get a home release until a full year later, instead of a shorter turn-around like most other movies do. The final two months of the year are traditionally flush with big-ticket family films and OscarBait.

** Most Americans of course are fine with people saying either Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, and wonder why anyone thinks they ought to be telling other people what to say, and are confused as to why wishing a Jew or Muslim "Merry Christmas" or wishing a Christian "Happy Holidays" would be considered offensive. Can't we all just get along?

** Christmas Day itself is a busy day at movie theaters, so several big-ticket releases usually open on the day or in time to hopefully cash in. Christmas-''themed'' movies usually open in November to capitalize on seasonal excitement (if a Christmas movie hits big, it can run for weeks on end). The final two months of the year are traditionally flush with big-ticket family films and OscarBait.

* '''Religious services:''' While certainly not all Americans are Christians, a majority are, and many will attend services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (which service in particular is a function of one's denomination, culture, local conditions, and convenience). In fact, for a good deal of otherwise nominal Christians, this may be one of the few times in a year when they actually go to church (the others being Easter or weddings -- hence the nickname CEOs, "Christmas and Easter Only" Christians). Parishioners who, the rest of the year, are able to find a place in the pews suddenly find that someone will have inevitably taken "their" seat. This is, justifiably, a source of snark for both regular parishioners and those just attending for Christmas. Some sort of religious music is, of course, ''de rigeur''. There is often a Nativity play sometime during the season, usually featuring children.

* '''Religious services:''' While certainly not all Americans are Christians, a majority are, and many will attend services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (which service in particular is a function of one's denomination, culture, local conditions, and convenience). In fact, for a good deal of otherwise nominal Christians, this may be one of the few times in a year when they actually go to church (the others being Easter or weddings -- hence the nickname "Christmas and Easter" Christians). Parishioners who, the rest of the year, are able to find a place in the pews suddenly find that someone will have inevitably taken "their" seat. This is, justifiably, a source of snark for both regular parishioners and those just attending for Christmas. Some sort of religious music is, of course, ''de rigeur''. There is often a Nativity play sometime during the season, usually featuring children.

* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime]] and the Hallmark Channel produce their own films for this purpose each year and have been at it long enough that they each can fill a whole month's worth of prime time with them. Most of these are based on a pretty simple concept ("The Dog Who Saved Christmas Part Two") or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" was a song that launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', ''NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''MiracleOn34thStreet'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''ItsAWonderfulLife'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only Creator/{{NBC}} runs it.

** Not really related, but there a few films each year that open on Christmas Day itself, thus making it a busy day at the multiplexes.

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[note]]and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...[[/note]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was common, but now every year the start seems to happen earlier in the day if not on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay night itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices.\\

* '''Live Entertainment:''' Ballet companies big and small usually mount a production of the much-loved, Christmas-themed ballet ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'': this serves as a CashCowFranchise for them. Adaptations of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', whether musicals or not, serve this purpose for playhouses. Christmas is also the season that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra makes most of their money.

* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime]] and the Hallmark Channel produce their own films for this purpose each year and have been at it long enough that they each can fill a whole month's worth of prime time with them. Most of these are based on a pretty simple concept ("The Dog Who Saved Christmas Part Two") or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" was a song that launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''AChristmasCarol'', ''NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''MiracleOn34thStreet'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''ItsAWonderfulLife'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only Creator/{{NBC}} runs it.

* '''Live Entertainment:''' Ballet companies big and small usually mount a production of the much-loved, Christmas-themed ballet ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'': this serves as a CashCowFranchise for them. Adaptations of ''AChristmasCarol'', whether musicals or not, serve this purpose for playhouses. Christmas is also the season that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra makes most of their money.

** This whole thing takes on a degree of {{irony}} if you know the history of the holiday in the US. Prior to the 19th century, few people in a Protestant-dominated America celebrated Christmas... mainly due to pressure from ''religious groups'' such as the Puritans, which often urged Christians ''not'' to celebrate Christmas, because a) they regarded the holiday (entirely correctly) as being a basically pagan festival with a thin religious varnish slapped on (much like how similar groups view [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]] today), and b) because it had become associated with drunken debauchery by that point. In some parts of the country, it was even ''illegal'' to celebrate Christmas due to this. It took [[AChristmasCarol Charles Dickens]] to give the holiday the reputation and recognition that it now has in the public consciousness, leading to both the "war on Christmas" fights and its commercialization. Which leads us into...

* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime]] and the Hallmark Channel produce their own films for this purpose each year and have been at it long enough that they each can fill a whole month's worth of prime time with them. Most of these are based on a pretty simple concept ("The Dog Who Saved Christmas Part Two") or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" was a song that launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''AChristmasCarol'', ''NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''MiracleOn34thStreet'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''ItsAWonderfulLife'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only {{NBC}} runs it.

----

[[caption-width-right:350:This scene took place during an Easter special...[[HilariousInHindsight thirty-five years ago]].]]

** ''Cyber Monday:'' The first weekday following Black Friday, this day represents the official beginning of the online Christmas shopping season and corresponds with a spike in online sales (and a momentary drop in productivity). Retailers tend to offer price reductions and/or free shipping for the week following Cyber Monday. Despite the [[TechnologyMarchesOn outdated]] name, this "holiday" is a fairly recent creation; the name was coined in 2005.

* '''Christmas Movies:''' If you're a [=TV=] channel -- especially a cable channel -- wanting more than just specials to fill up airtime, themed movies are an option. Channels like [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime]] and the Hallmark Channel produce their own films for this purpose each year and have been at it long enough that they each can fill a whole month's worth of prime time with them. Most of these are based on a pretty simple concept ("The Dog Who Saved Christmas Part Two") or a pre-existing property ("The Christmas Shoes" was a song that launched a trilogy of films) and tend to be a rich well of SnarkBait. Other channels run popular theatrical Christmas movies: [=TBS=] famously runs a 24-hour marathon of ''AChristmasStory'' starting in prime time on Christmas Eve. ''Scrooged'' and other movies based off ''AChristmasCarol'', ''[[NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation]]'', ''{{Elf}}'', ''[[MiracleOn34thStreet Miracle on 34th Street]]'', and ''Film/DieHard'' (you can't say it isn't a Christmas movie!) are also wildly popular. Back in the 1970s, ''[[ItsAWonderfulLife It's a Wonderful Life]]'' became VindicatedByHistory when it was virtually public domain and seemingly every [=TV=] channel in the country ran it as inexpensive holiday-themed programming. Nowadays, only {{NBC}} runs it.

** The point is, this means that those working in retail will find themselves just as likely to be yelled at by customers for saying "Merry Christmas" '''or''' "Happy Holidays". You can't win, and things can get truly ridiculous from there, as pointed out in this exchange in the SomethingAwful discussion boards:

--> Dr. Kyle Farnsworth: "If (they are) the conservative type, they've spent the past couple years getting their panties in a wad about THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS where people (LIBRULS!!!) are saying Happy Holidays because they hate Jesus/America/Apple Pie and actually don't want to celebrate Christmas at all. But if they must they'll make it an ''evil'' secular holiday and then there'll be no religion ever. The Christmas I spent in Alabama I went trolling by wishing everyone Happy Holidays and [[SeriousBusiness at least 50% went red-faced and spluttering.]]"

** ''Christmas in LosAngeles'' borrows more from Mexican traditions. The poinsettia, a leafy red plant native to Mexico City, can be found everywhere, even lining the walls in local newscasts. It's not uncommon for people to make special trips to Olvera Street, the old Mexican quarter of Downtown Los Angeles. Watch for ''posadas'', a sort of hybrid between street theater and caroling, that's supposed to reenact Joseph and Mary's search for an inn. As with other denizens of warm climates (and [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAustralia Australia]], where it's summer in December), Angelenos are not too fussed that the idea of the "traditional" wintry Christmas doesn't match their experience -- it simply isn't considered that important.

* '''Religious services:''' While certainly not all Americans are Christians, a majority are, and many will attend services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (which service in particular is a function of one's denomination, culture, local conditions, and convenience). In fact, for a good deal of otherwise nominal Christians, this may be one of the few times in a year when they actually go to church (the others being Easter or weddings -- hence the nickname "Christmas and Easter" Christians). Parishioners who, the rest of the year, are able to find a place in the pews suddenly find that someone will have inevitably taken "their" seat. This is, justifiably, a source of snark for both regular parishioners and those just attending for Christmas. Some sort of religious music is, of course, ''de rigeur''. There is often a Nativity play sometime during the season, usually featuring children.

<<|ChristmasTropes|>>

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[note]]and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...[[/note]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was common, but now every year the start seems to happen earlier in the day if not on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay night itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices. The name stems from the expression "in the black," which means turning a profit: these sales often secure a store's fortunes for the year. However, in recent years the name has taken on a darker connotation. These sales are SeriousBusiness to many people, to the point that fights have broken out at them -- there have even been occasional ''deaths'' since 2008. Even before that the term often had rather a different meaning to actual employees, who regard it with all the dread of [[TheGreatDepression Black Sunday]]; even when people don't get killed, physical assault is not as uncommon as one might expect. (A notorious 2011 incident in California had a shopper unleashing ''pepper spray'' on her rivals.)

** Creator/PBSKidsSprout's "Snooze-a-Thon" is esseitally a variation on this. Beginning in 2008, Sprout began airing this beginning at 6 P.M. Eastern on Christmas Eve and into the wee morning hours of Christmas. It features a loop of clips of characters from the various programs offered by the network sleeping (including ''{{Caillou}}'', ''TheBerenstainBears'' and Nina and Star, the hosts of ''The Goodnight Show''), scored with relaxing music. The idea is that since Santa "knows when you are sleeping," this program will help children get to sleep, rather than irresponsibly airing programming that would otherwise keep them awake. For those that get an On Demand service, this program is offered year-round.

** Creator/PBSKids Sprout's "Snooze-a-Thon" is esseitally a variation on this. Beginning in 2008, Sprout began airing this beginning at 6 P.M. Eastern on Christmas Eve and into the wee morning hours of Christmas. It features a loop of clips of characters from the various programs offered by the network sleeping (including ''{{Caillou}}'', ''TheBerenstainBears'' and Nina and Star, the hosts of ''The Goodnight Show''), scored with relaxing music. The idea is that since Santa "knows when you are sleeping," this program will help children get to sleep, rather than irresponsibly airing programming that would otherwise keep them awake. For those that get an On Demand service, this program is offered year-round.

[[quoteright:350:[[{{Peanuts}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/EasterXmas.jpg]]]]

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[hottip:*:and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was common, but now every year the start seems to happen earlier in the day if not on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay night itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices. The name stems from the expression "in the black," which means turning a profit: these sales often secure a store's fortunes for the year. However, in recent years the name has taken on a darker connotation. These sales are SeriousBusiness to many people, to the point that fights have broken out at them -- there have even been occasional ''deaths'' since 2008. Even before that the term often had rather a different meaning to actual employees, who regard it with all the dread of [[TheGreatDepression Black Sunday]]; even when people don't get killed, physical assault is not as uncommon as one might expect. (A notorious 2011 incident in California had a shopper unleashing ''pepper spray'' on her rivals.)

The United States of America has many colorful, distinctive Christmas traditions that frequently appear in media. Compare and contrast with AVeryBritishChristmas, ChristmasInAustralia and ChristmasInJapan. See also AmericanHolidays.

** ''Christmas in LosAngeles'' borrows more from Mexican traditions. The poinsettia, a leafy red plant native to Mexico City, can be found everywhere, even lining the walls in local newscasts. It's not uncommon for people to make special trips to Olvera Street, the old Mexican quarter of Downtown Los Angeles. Watch for ''posadas'', a sort of hybrid between street theater and caroling, that's supposed to reenact Joseph and Mary's search for an inn. As with other denizens of warm climates (and [[ChristmasInAustralia Australia]], where it's summer in December), Angelenos are not too fussed that the idea of the "traditional" wintry Christmas doesn't match their experience -- it simply isn't considered that important.

** It should be noted at this point that most other Americans a) don't mind saying "Happy Holidays", because there's more than one religion in the world and the people who think there is a War on Christmas need to get over it, but who also b) find things like the "Holiday Tree", "Winter Workshop", and so forth in ''FarmVille'' [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad a little excessive.]]

** PBSKids Sprout's "Snooze-a-Thon" is esseitally a variation on this. Beginning in 2008, Sprout began airing this beginning at 6 P.M. Eastern on Christmas Eve and into the wee morning hours of Christmas. It features a loop of clips of characters from the various programs offered by the network sleeping (including ''{{Caillou}}'', ''TheBerenstainBears'' and Nina and Star, the hosts of ''The Goodnight Show''), scored with relaxing music. The idea is that since Santa "knows when you are sleeping," this program will help children get to sleep, rather than irresponsibly airing programming that would otherwise keep them awake. For those that get an On Demand service, this program is offered year-round.

* '''{{Christmas Special}}s:''' While the UK's Christmas [=TV=] specials are usually special episodes of regular programs, the phrase refers to original, stand-alone shows in the US. Each year brings along a new batch of such shows, ranging from VarietyShow specials toplining a popular celebrity (often a musician) to animated shows such as ''HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', the various RankinBassProductions specials, and ''ACharlieBrownChristmas''. The most popular have been repeated annually by the big networks for '''decades''' now. The former are one-off shows, though some performers, such as Andy Williams and JohnnyCash, were famous for doing a new special each year for a stretch of time. Meanwhile many regular scripted shows, especially sitcoms and cartoons, will do a ChristmasEpisode of their own. (See WonderfulLife, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, MallSanta, and HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas for particularly popular stock plots.)

* '''Christmas Dinner:''' Because UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay is the big "feasting" holiday in the US, this is not as big an event as the UK's Christmas lunch equivalent. Still, a nice spread is always appreciated, usually centered around turkey or ham (or lasagna for some people of Italian decedent). It may be held on Christmas Eve or Day depending on family preference.

* '''Christmas Dinner:''' Because {{Thanksgiving}} is the big "feasting" holiday in the US, this is not as big an event as the UK's Christmas lunch equivalent. Still, a nice spread is always appreciated, usually centered around turkey or ham (or lasagna for some people of Italian decedent). It may be held on Christmas Eve or Day depending on family preference.

* '''Black Friday:''' While Christmas merchandise and decorations now begin to appear in stores in mid-October, if not earlier [[hottip:*:and many department stores like JC Penney ship their holiday catalog as early as ''[[UpToEleven late August]]''...]], actual Christmas ''sales'' formally launch the day after {{Thanksgiving}}, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Stores open in the wee hours of the morning -- 5 a.m. was common, but now every year the start seems to happen earlier in the day if not on Thanksgiving night itself. A ZergRush of determined shoppers storms in to snag must-have items -- especially toys and electronics -- at reduced prices. The name stems from the expression "in the black," which means turning a profit: these sales often secure a store's fortunes for the year. However, in recent years the name has taken on a darker connotation. These sales are SeriousBusiness to many people, to the point that fights have broken out at them -- there have even been occasional ''deaths'' since 2008. Even before that the term often had rather a different meaning to actual employees, who regard it with all the dread of [[TheGreatDepression Black Sunday]]; even when people don't get killed, physical assault is not as uncommon as one might expect. (A notorious 2011 incident in California had a shopper unleashing ''pepper spray'' on her rivals.)

* '''[[ChristmasSongs Christmas Music]]:''' While the UK phenomenon of the "Christmas Number One" is not repeated in the US, many recording artists bring out at least one Christmas-themed album in their careers. The appeal of making a Christmas album is obvious: if you come up with a classic (say, Mariah Carey's version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You"), you might as well have a license to print money. In the past decade, it has become common for certain radio stations to switch to an all-Christmas music format right after Thanksgiving, not letting up until the end of Christmas Day. Depending on the station's usual audience, the playlists can range from traditional carols and hymns to popular tunes to a mix of the two. In the past couple of decades a phenomenon has emerged of hijacking non-Christmas songs: notably "My Favorite Things" and "The Marvelous Toy" have joined the lineup of ChristmasSongs.

** ''Christmas in NewYorkCity'' exemplifies the stereotypical American Christmas for obvious reasons, borrows heavily from AVeryBritishChristmas, and takes everything UpToEleven. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade starts things off, followed by the lighting of the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and lots of public spaces will have ice skating. There's often even more traffic than usual, because tourists come in to experience a real New York Christmas. ''The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular'', running seasonally since the 1930s, is periodically updated but always features themed dance numbers starring the famous Rockettes and a "Living Nativity" finale. Sometimes, street decorations appear as early as after Halloween. Manhattan is the birthplace of the elaborate window display, and all the fancier stores have them to this day. And while the chances of snow falling on Christmas Day are less than 50%, it does snow in December. A ''lot.''

* '''[[ChristmasSongs Christmas Music]]:''' While the UK phenomenon of the "Christmas Number One" is not repeated in the US, many recording artists bring out at least one Christmas-themed album in their careers. The appeal of making a Christmas album is obvious: if you come up with a classic (say, Mariah Carey's version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You"), you might as well have a license to print money. In the past decade, it has become common for certain radio stations to switch to an all-Christmas music format right after Thanksgiving, not letting up until the end of Christmas Day. Depending on the station's usual audience, the playlists can range from traditional carols and hymns to popular tunes to a mix of the two.