In the United States, Christmas is actually a secular holiday as far as the federal government is concerned. We have this thing against the government mandating religion on the citizens. But, the majority of the population, thus the elected representatives, that established and grew what became the United States, were Christians.
So, the date commonly celebrated as the birth of Christ was declared, on June 28, 1870, toward the end of the legislative session, by President Ulysses S. Grant signing a bill, designated Christmas a legal, unpaid holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia. The legislation also included holidays like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Day.
While a day off from work was important, that wasn’t the only purpose of Christmas during that rapidly changing time. Christmas customs encouraged a sense of community and unity at a time when urbanization, industrialization and the memory of the recent Civil War.
There are many restrictions on what types of laws the U.S. government can pass that the states have to follow. Holidays fall into that category, so not every state declared Christmas a holiday right away. I am not sure when West Virginia did. I tried to look it up on the gulag search engine but didn’t find it.
I’ve never heard of Get Century, but according to local news station WOWK they rank WV number four in their top 10 states for Christmas Cheer.
And the ever popular onlyinyourstate.com says Bluefield, WV is our official Christmas City. Who’da thunk? I may have to venture down there before the holiday season ends.
Mostly what happens in my general area are a few small town parades, the incorporated cities of Belle and Marmet, and of course Charleston.
When Wayne and I were dating, and for a couple years after we married, we would see the Christmas decorations as we drove to whatever dive bar his band was playing. I enjoyed it, and I miss it. We’ve settled into the “I am home after work and don’t want to go back out” routine now.