Top Five New Christmas Traditions of the 21st Century
We had a big response to our recent post about dying Christmas traditions.
But if Christmas has proven one thing over the centuries it has been a resilient ability to constantly evolve into ever creative new levels of celebration.
For example, the Christmas tree wasn’t always a part of Christmas. While historians lay claim to the idea that pagans gave rise to the tradition long before Christianity, as this video points out the celebration of the tree as a religious symbol really pre-dates it all.
Regardless, the modern Christmas tree didn’t really get its start until the mid-19th century. And it’s going strong today even if a 21st century tree looks vastly different than the Victorian era evergreen of the Queen.
With that in mind, and with a tip of the hat to the Christmas traditions we’ve noted in decline, here are the top five new Christmas traditions of the 21st century:
1. Text me Merry Christmas
The Internet has influenced every item on our list. In a way, you can really say that traditional greetings in cards or in songs that were delivered in the past have now really just morphed.
People just send those same greetings but now do them online in social media or simply via text by the now ever-present cell phone. Here’s video that explains it better:
2. Tracking Santa Claus online
Advent calendars are really the old-time predecessor of anticipating Christmas. Many still use them, in fact. But nothing builds anticipation better than Santa Claus and technically some could claim that tracking Santa is really a 20th century thing given that Norad got their start in the 1950s.
But as the Internet has taught us, Norad only places Santa on a map. These days there are more sophisticated and more complete ways of tracking Santa, thanks to the Internet.
Again, here’s video to explain it:
3. The Christmas Video
Well, since we’ve used two videos now to explain things on our list perhaps we better explain the very 21st century phenomenon of Christmas videos. They are – pardon the pun – embedded now in our cultural celebration of Christmas.
There are music Christmas videos, comedy Christmas videos, prank Christmas videos, cultural Christmas videos and Christmas videos from around the world.
Youtube LOVES Christmas because it brings out the best, most creative and cheerful video watching of the year. Christmas videos give the famous a chance to become famous again – and it gives the unknown the opportunity to become beloved, very quickly. Case in point? These guys:
4. Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Who knows where it all started – but Christmas fashion statements never really go out of style. In fact, because it is Christmas and Christmas is always noted in some way for its excess and absurdity, what other time of the year can present us with something universally declared ugly – and that ends up being a good thing?
Ugly Christmas sweaters are a thing. The uglier your sweater, the bigger of a thing it is. It’s all in the name of fun and merry Christmas:
5. Christmas Shopping in PJs
We’re not talking about waking in the dead of night for some Black Friday sale. We’re talking about shopping online, at home, in your PJs, and never leaving your house to face the crowds, the malls or the sales.
The evidence is all around us. From coast to coast there are shuttered malls and defunct department stores. Thriving is the Amazon wish list and the Apple store.
Order it from home and if ordered before the right date before Christmas most will ship it for free. You never have to take off your slippers. Dickens would be amazed.
