Some historians believe the first Christmas in the United States was celebrated in 1539 by Hernando de Soto, a dozen Catholic priests, and around 600 Spanish explorers. The settlers held a Christmas Mass in Anhaica, an Indigenous village now known as Tallahassee, Florida.
The first clearly recorded Christmas in the South was in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. This is if you exclude a celebration in 1604 by French settlers when they tried to establish a colony on St. Croix Island off the coast of Maine.
Some call 1776 the first "American" Christmas because the Declaration of Independence was created the previous summer.
Alabama was the first state to officially recognize Christmas as a legal holiday in 1836. Oklahoma was the last state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday in 1907.
By 1860, 14 states, including several in New England, had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.In the United States, Christmas was established as a federal holiday on June 26, 1870.
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In the holiday spirit? ~ Lift your spirits!
Floral paintings always lift my spirit.
Adorn any room with these art prints!
'Christmas Roses' Giclee Print - William Jabez Muckley | @AllPosters https://t.co/qcoZq8o9xR #Christmas #flowers #floral #art #gifts #giftideas for #home or #office #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/T5DzMls2tA
— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 19, 2023
'A Flower that Makes You Imagine Christmas' Giclee Print - Hiroyuki Izutsu | @AllPosters https://t.co/0xSh6CRRyx #Christmas #flowers #floral #art #gifts #giftideas for #home or #office #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/edQSL2fthE
— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 19, 2023
'Still-Life of Christmas Roses' Giclee Print - Charles Etienne Guerin | @AllPosters https://t.co/bi8OZkJfUZ #Christmas #flowers #floral #art #gifts #giftideas for #home or #office #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/heIHmMBWtc
— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 19, 2023
'A Christmas Arrangement with Holly, Mistletoe and Other Winter Flowers' Giclee Print - Albert Williams | @AllPosters https://t.co/KJgzb8wM7C #Christmas #flowers #floral #art #gifts #giftideas for #home or #office #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/PsMCEpElxc
— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 19, 2023
'Bear and Christmas Flowers' Giclee Print - Makiko | @AllPosters https://t.co/zHOXvs17tn #Christmas #flowers #floral #art #gifts #giftideas for #home or #office #HappyHolidays pic.twitter.com/szN1bGe62B
— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 19, 2023
Contreras, Russell. “Hispanics Led First U.S. Christmas Celebrations.” Axios. Axios, December 21, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/12/21/hispanics-first-christmas-celebrations-us.
Celebrating Holidays. “History of Christmas in America,” 2023. https://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=1046.
billpetro. “History of the First American Christmas: 1776.” Bill Petro. The BPC Group, November 29, 2023. https://billpetro.com/history-of-the-first-american-christmas-1776/.
Bhagat, Dhruti. “Boston Public Library.” Bpl.org, December 21, 2018. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-holidays-christmas/.
HISTORY. “History of Christmas - Origins, Traditions & Facts | HISTORY,” October 27, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas.
Dallascitynews.net. “Ten Interesting Facts about Christmas - Dallas City News,” 2023. https://www.dallascitynews.net/ten-interesting-facts-about-christmas.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Christmas.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, December 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.
