Are you curious now? Then you definitely should continue reading!

Some time ago we had a special guest in one of our English lessons, Amelia, the American language assistant from Springfield, Illinois, who is staying in Oberwart for this school-year.

As it was in the middle of December, the topic that interested us most was…Christmas! After having told Amelia about Christmas in Austria, she told us a lot about the American traditions. We soon realised that celebrating Christmas in the US isn`t the same as celebrating it in Austria.

First of all, Amelia mentioned Thanksgiving, for some Americans even more important than Christmas. Thanksgiving is celebrated with a big dinner. Traditional dishes are turkey, cornbread, ham, casseroles with vegetables, marshmallows put on mashed sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. A typical dessert is a delicious American pecan pie. After dinner, to digest the food, Amelia`s family enjoys going for a walk. On Thanksgiving, there is a famous parade in New York. Every year, it is visited by thousands of people from all over the world.

Do you think that Christmas is celebrated on December 24 all over the world? Wrong! In America, Christmas Day is on December 25. On this day, Santa Clause jumps through the chimney to surprise children by leaving some gifts under the Christmas tree. If a child gets a present, it leaves some cookies and milk to thank Santa. On Christmas Day, socks are hanging round the fireplace. Children believe that Santa fills them with presents, too.

We are sure, that you’re well informed about celebrating Christmas in Austria, so we don’t need to explain the Austrian Christmas traditions.

We hope that you liked our report and that we have been able to give you some useful information about the American traditions.