How Christmas in America Became a Secular National Holiday

Christmas in America has lost most of its religious meaning. 

Commercialization and gift-giving accelerated the process, but they did not start it.

The result is the Christmas we know today: a holiday that can be sacred, sentimental, commercial, or purely cultural, depending on who you ask.

As early as the 1870s, Christmas in America began to change from essentially a religious to a secular national holiday, a process accelerated by commercialization and the custom of gift-giving.

When Americans today debate whether Christmas is “religious” or “secular,” they often assume the holiday has always been both. Historically, that assumption is wrong. In fact, Christmas in the United States underwent a deliberate and well-documented transformation, one that accelerated in the late 19th century, particularly after the 1870s.

Understanding how and why this happened requires stepping back to early American attitudes toward Christmas, which were far less sentimental than what we recognize today.

Christmas Was Not Always Welcome in America

In colonial America, Christmas was not universally celebrated—and in some places, it was outright rejected. New England Puritans viewed the holiday as a Catholic import with pagan roots, lacking biblical justification. From 1659 to 1681, Christmas celebrations were actually illegal in Massachusetts.

Where Christmas was observed, it tended to be quiet and religious, centered on church services rather than public festivity. There was no shared national tradition, and certainly nothing resembling today’s family-centered, gift-heavy celebration.

This matters, because it means Christmas did not begin as a deeply rooted American religious institution. That made it far more adaptable later on.

The 19th Century Reframes the Holiday

The modern American Christmas began taking shape in the early 1800s, but the real shift accelerated after the Civil War. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and changing work patterns reshaped American life. Families were increasingly separated by jobs and cities, and social reformers worried about disorder, alcohol-fueled revelry, and class tensions during the winter months.

Christmas was gradually repurposed as a holiday of domestic stability, focused on the home, children, and moral instruction. This version of Christmas emphasized warmth, generosity, and family cohesion, values that appealed across religious lines.

A major turning point came in 1870, when Congress declared Christmas a federal holiday. With that act, Christmas officially became a national civic observance, not merely a church feast day. The federal government’s involvement marked a clear shift: Christmas now belonged to the public calendar.

Commercialization Changes Everything

Once Christmas became a shared national holiday, commerce followed quickly.

By the late 19th century, department stores had discovered that Christmas could drive massive seasonal sales. Gift-giving, once modest or symbolic, became increasingly consumer-driven, especially for children. Advertisements promoted the idea that love and generosity were expressed through purchased gifts.

Retailers extended shopping hours, decorated storefronts, and ran holiday promotions. Christmas became one of the most important economic events of the year—a status it has never relinquished.

Religion did not disappear, but it no longer defined the holiday’s public face.

The Reinvention of Santa Claus

No figure better symbolizes the secularization of Christmas than Santa Claus.

The modern Santa was shaped almost entirely in the United States:

• Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” introduced a playful, gift-giving figure.
• Thomas Nast’s illustrations in Harper’s Weekly during the mid-to-late 1800s standardized Santa’s appearance and personality.

Santa was deliberately non-religious, making him universally accessible in a pluralistic society. He fit perfectly with consumer culture and helped move Christmas further away from doctrine and toward shared tradition.

A Holiday for Everyone

By the end of the 19th century, Christmas in America had become something new:

• A national holiday, not tied to any single denomination
• A celebration centered on family, children, generosity, and nostalgia
• A major commercial and cultural event
• A religious observance for some—but not a requirement for participation

This transformation was not accidental. It was driven by social change, economic incentives, and a desire for unity in a diverse nation.

References and Further Reading

• Stephen Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas (1996)
• Leigh Eric Schmidt, Consumer Rites (1995)
• Penney L. Restad, Christmas in America (1995)
• U.S. Congress, Act of June 28, 1870
• Clement Clarke Moore, A Visit from St. Nicholas (1823)
• Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly Christmas illustrations (1860s–1880s)