The Surprising New York Roots of Your Favorite Christmas Traditions

When people think of New York, they often picture bright lights, busy streets, and maybe a giant Christmas tree glowing in the middle of it all.

But long before the Rockefeller Center crowds and holiday window displays, New York quietly helped launch — and inspire — some of the Christmas traditions and holiday experiences people still love today.

Get our free mobile app

Mistletoe

Take mistletoe, for example.

That awkward-but-beloved holiday staple made its way to America thanks to the author
Washington Irving from Sleepy Hollow. He told the story of the English custom in “The Sketch Book," published in 1820.

“The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.”

Pink Sugar Pig

New York also gave us the delightfully odd Saratoga Peppermint Pig, a hard candy shaped like a pig.

It first appeared in Saratoga Springs in the 1880s as a symbol of health and prosperity, inspired by European customs.

READ MORE: You Won’t Believe Which NY City Is the Most Festive for Christmas

After Christmas dinner, families traditionally smash the pig with a small hammer and share the pieces for good luck—a tradition revived by Saratoga Sweets following a pause in production during WWII sugar rationing.

Twas Night Before Christmas

Literature plays a big role, too.

Clement Clarke Moore — a New Yorker — is widely credited with writing “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known as “’ Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

READ MORE: This Upstate New York Poem Changed Christmas Forever

That poem gave us the modern image of Santa Claus, complete with a sleigh, reindeer, and a magical Christmas Eve visit.

Christmas Festivals

Seneca Falls proudly celebrates its connection to It’s a Wonderful Life, with an annual festival that brings George Bailey’s hometown to life each December.

READ MORE: Step Into 'It’s A Wonderful Life:' Inside Seneca Falls New York

Skaneateles transforms into a Dickens-era dream during its beloved Dickens Christmas festival, complete with carolers, costumes, and horse-drawn charm.

Real Christmas Trees

Mark Carr was a legendary woodsman from the Catskill Mountains, best known in local lore for his role in New York’s Christmas tree traditions.

According to the story, Carr would harvest the finest evergreens from the mountains, supplying early holiday celebrations and helping popularize the decorated Christmas tree in the region.

Over time, his name became linked to the story of how the Catskills contributed to America’s festive tree traditions, blending frontier skill with holiday cheer.

Yes, Virginia, is from New York

And then there’s Virginia.

In 1897, a young New York girl wrote to The Sun asking the question kids still ask today: Is Santa real?

READ MORE: This NY Town Is Among the Best Christmas Towns in the U.S.

The paper’s reply — “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” — became one of the most famous editorials ever written and helped define the heart of the holiday season.

From poems and traditions to storybook celebrations, New York has been spreading Christmas magic for generations — and it’s still going strong.