The U.S. is a multicultural country, and this fact affects the national holiday. Each immigrant brought to the States a piece of his or her Christmas, home traditions, and customs. The "pieces" of Christmas merged together in America to form an original canvas of the Christmas holiday, unique and very colorful.
The Poles shared their custom of spreading straw on the floor and under the tablecloth of the festive table at Christmas, in the likeness of the stable/chateau in which Mary gave the future Savior to the world.
The Hungarians accustomed Americans to the midnight Mass of Christmas, which must be attended before sitting down to the festive table.
The Spaniards instilled a love of brightly lit streets and festive garlands of bulbs and lanterns to "light the way of Mary and Joseph." In their homeland, they kept the ancient tradition of "Luminarias," to place paper bags filled with sand, with a lighted candle inside, along the streets and on the sidewalk on Christmas night.
A passion for holiday decorations.
There is an unspoken competition among Americans, especially those in the private sector, to decorate their homes and grounds in the best, brightest, most unusual and impressive way possible. This atmosphere of general obsession with glowing lights, snowmen, dwarves, reindeer sleighs, wreaths, and bells is reflected, quite graphically and wittily, in American feature films about Christmas.
In the States they have gladly adopted the English tradition of using mistletoe, holly, and ivy as Christmas decorations. According to ancient lore, mistletoe drives away evil spirits, evergreen holly symbolizes faith and hope, and ivy symbolizes vitality.