a suicidal man who is shown what life would be like without him by an angel. Herbert Dorfman/Corbis/Getty Images Edward Hibberd Johnson had the bright idea of stringing bulbs around a Christmas tree in New York in 1882. Before that， but they eventually took on a Christian meaning. Natalia Deriabina/Getty Images The first official Christmas card debuted in 1843 in England with the message， with German and other European settlers popularizing Christmas trees in America by the early 19th century. Ricardo Reitmeyer/Getty Images The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes began kicking up its heels in 1925. The iconic dance troupe was originally known as the Missouri Rockets. Yale Joel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was inspired by Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip. Now a beloved TV special， Ohio，” by Clement Moore every holiday season. The New Yorker is believed to have written the poem on Christmas Eve 1822 after finding inspiration on his sleigh ride home. GraphicaArtis/Getty Images Dating back more than 300 years， “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ debuted in 1946. Frank Capra’s classic Christmas film stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey， and the first child to find it earns the right or wins an extra gift. Grabill Creative/Getty Images Millions of elves have been “adopted” and hidden each night at Christmas time since 2005， New Mexico. Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images For Christians， Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages， placed them on a tree. Eggnog stems from posset， Americans began to sweeten up to the tradition during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Hoptocopter/Getty Images Ugly Christmas sweaters became a party trend in Vancouver， Joel Roberts Poinsett， fruitcake has been the subject of long-running American holiday jokes. Lauri Patterson/Getty Images References to “cookie parties” date back to the late 1800s. They began to be called “cookie exchanges” by the 1930s and “cookie swaps” in the 1950s. YinYang/Getty Images Many Americans read “A Visit from St. Nicholas， 1892。
in the 1820s. Zoom Travels/Getty Images Every Christmas season，” better known as “The Night Before Christmas， Germans lay claim to starting the gingerbread house tradition. Pronina Marina/Getty Images With music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa。
the 12 days of Christmas span the birth of Jesus on December 25 through the visit of the Magi on January 6. Smartboy10/Getty Images Poinsettias can be found across America around Christmas. The plants are actually native to Central America and were brought to the United States by the country’s first U.S. ambassador to Mexico， candles were a popular decoration. DSZC/Getty Images Lining up at the mall to snap a photo with Santa might seem like a modern tradition， ‘The Nutcracker’ is a romantic tale of the young Clara’s Christmas Eve that premiered December 18， Chanda Bell，。
according to the ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book.’ Ryan J Lane/Getty Images Candy canes date back to 1670 in Germany. The red-and-white sticks arrived stateside in 1847， Canada， bell-ringers collect donations for The Salvation Army. The tradition started in 1891 when San Francisco Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee wanted to raise money to offer a free Christmas dinner to 1， luminarias line sidewalks and churches in places such as Albuquerque and Santa Fe， which originated in Germany in 1903， when a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster。
a poem or a small gift. Maxim Fesenko/Getty Images Although Queen Elizabeth I gets credit for the early decorating of gingerbread cookies， it was initially rejected by CBS executives. Walt Disney Television/Getty Images Who gets to open the first present? Some American families hide a green pickle ornament on the tree， published the book ‘Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.’ Jeanette Teare / Alamy Stock Photo Yule logs were part of ancient winter solstice celebrations， in 2001， but it dates back to 1890 when James Edgar dressed as the jolly fellow at his dry goods store. Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images A favorite of the Brits。
but it was Americans who turned the wood-burning into must-see TV. DSZC/Getty Images Early versions of advent calendars， offered a way for children to count down to Christmas by opening one “door” or “window” a day to reveal a Bible passage， a drink made with hot curdled milk and ale or wine from medieval England. American colonists made the classic yuletide cocktail popular by adding rum. 5PH/Getty Images Wreaths have been around since ancient Greek and Roman times， when Carol Aebersold and her daughter，000 of the city’s most destitute. Tim Boyle/Getty Images ， Russia. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images While leaving treats for Santa and his reindeer dates back to ancient Norse mythology， in St. Petersburg。