Favorite foods enjoyed by Americans for any given holiday, season or special occasion will likely include some ethnic

include other birds or poultry. These include roast goose or duck. Roasted ham may also be served. Cranberry sauce, vegetables,

pumpkin pie and a plum pudding or fruity Christmas pudding for dessert tops off traditional Christmas dinners. Mince pies and pastry

that is filled with a mixture of chopped, dried fruit may also be added to the menu.

For drinks at Christmas dinner, a bottle of champagne is very popular, as well as wines. But the everyday beverage of beer

is a must for many people to make a meal truly enjoyable.

Before Christmas Day and the big dinner arrives, there's also another type of food that Americans enjoy in large quantities

during the Christmas season. The consumption and sales of candies, gingerbread and other cookies and holiday treats increases rapidly

during the holidays. Similar to how department stores seek to attract shoppers to buy items for Christmas gifts, candy manufacturers

also put out special boxes and types of candies for Christmas and the holiday season.

A survey done in 2004 by the National Confectioners Association found that many adults derived much pleasure at

Christmas from giving and receiving candies and other treats. In their responses the survey participants said that giving decadent

boxes of chocolate to friends and family, placing candy canes on the Christmas tree and hiding candy treats in Christmas stockings

were favorite ways to give and receive candies, cookies and treats during the holidays.

Sweet treats remain popular at Christmas despite a constant message about dieting that is present in everyday life in the

media, in billboards and from some food manufacturers. At Christmas time, people feel free to enjoy the festive season without

constraints. But they also know that they can enjoy candies and cookies that are health conscious by eating ones that are targeted to the

low-carb dieter by having ingredients that are sugar-free and fat-free or both.

Cookies that are enjoyed at Christmas are often home-baked ones and usually include gingerbread items. The tradition of

gingerbread cookies at Christmas is also believed to have originated in Germany and brought to America by German immigrants.

German bakeries began baking very fancy gingerbread houses with icing as edible snow and other decorations after the Grimm

Brothers published their children's story, Hansel and Gretel. That story had a description of a house that was made of bread, a roof of

cake and windows of barley. The popularity of the creations by German bakeries gave rise to cookie cutters that were made in a

variety of shapes, enabling small gingerbread cookies of various shapes to be baked at home. Some of these cookies that had the

shapes of little people and animals were used to decorate Christmas trees.

More than one hundred years ago from today, German homes in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania would have cookies

that were up to one foot high in the front of windows of their houses as decorative items during winter. The cookies were often giant

gingerbread men and women that had colorful rows of buttons and big smiles. Passersby were often cheered and intrigued by the sight

and brought the idea to their homes on a smaller scale.

Being able to enjoy special dishes, candies, cookies and other goodies during Christmas and the holidays adds a sweet

flavor to the season and also helps to create warm and cherished memories.

Christmas is a special time of the year for the joy and intangible magic

It is at the malls or downtown stores that some of the favorite sights, sounds

and scents of Christmas can be experienced.

The decorations at Malls and retail establishments are usually very

fanciful and eye-catching, especially to children, with the many colorful and

twinkling lights. It's also a wonder for both adults and children alike to look

at the numerous tinsels, baubles and figurines such as fairies, angels and

little babies that adorn the main Christmas tree in the center of shopping malls

and others in department stores. These trees are usually extremely well

embellished with decorations that are arranged in a very professional way that

most shoppers can't replicate in their own homes. It's therefore a delight for

them to stare at such trees in wonder and amazement.

Along with the wide variety of decorations in retail establishments, there

also is the sound of music playing, bells ringing, the laughter and wishes of

Merry Christmas from shoppers that also create a special atmosphere and add to

the magic of Christmas. Even the sound of cash registers in the background adds

something to the special feeling shoppers have at Christmas time.

And of course there's always a Santa Claus that children can meet and tell

what they want for Christmas, and also have their picture taken. Sometimes Santa

Claus may distribute Christmas gifts to children, telling them that because they

have been very, very good they are getting an extra special early Christmas

present.

The ability to delight children by telling them stories about Santa Claus,

as well as making them see and talk to the jolly old fellow, puts a lot of magic

and excitement into Christmas. Once the tradition is started, or from the first

time that children have been told the story, it becomes something that they look

forward to every year during the Christmas season.

There's also the sound of music from choirs or school groups who often

give open performances singing Christmas carols and songs in malls and downtown

areas of towns. Families and others who are out and about will pause to listen

or to sing along with these groups.

Shopping is undoubtedly an enjoyable activity for most people during Christmas,

but merrier and more memorable times are enjoyed when time is spent with family,

friends and colleagues during the season. Before Christmas Day arrives, there

usually are parties at home and at work, an evening out with friends and other

occasions to get together and share the spirit of Christmas. The presence of

special Christmas music and people dressed in holiday attire provide a different

atmosphere and contribute to the magical feeling of the season.

Another thing that is different at Christmas is the scent from a fresh

Christmas tree, of gingerbread and other cookies baking and other food

preparations that are specially done at Christmas time. Most people who select a

real Christmas tree instead of an artificial one for their homes do so because

of the wonderful scent it provides. For many people, that scent from a Christmas

tree is what puts Christmas into everything else.

Another popular scent at Christmas comes from the popular Christmas song

'Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire.' The actual roasting of chestnuts by

families during the Christmas season may be a rare occurrence these days but it

is occasionally done in some downtown areas and in bakeries and confectioneries

that make fresh products everyday.

All these events, activities, happenings, sights, sounds and scents of Christmas

and the holidays create special and unforgettable memories. And who can deny

that a pleasant memory is always something that is truly magical.