History[edit]

The first Wienerschnitzel was founded by former Taco Bell employee John Galardi (1937-2013). When Galardi came to California at the age of 19, he landed his first job from Glen Bell, who would go on to later establish Taco Bell in 1962. Bell initially hired him on a part-time basis for 50 cents an hour at a taco store called Taco-Tia. Eventually, Galardi entered into a partnership agreement to run the store. At one point, Bell borrowed $6,000 from Galardi, but was unable to pay the loan back. He offered to sell the store to Galardi for $12,000. Galardi borrowed some money from his parents, laid off all of the employees at the restaurant and worked alone, and eventually secured enough money to purchase the store.

A couple of years later, a man wanted to recruit Galardi to start his own restaurant at a location on Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington, next to one of Bell's taco stores. Bell encouraged him to take the man up on the offer, but to sell another kind of food. Galardi decided to sell hot dogs since "nobody else was in hot dogs." According to Galardi, his wife came up with the name when looking through a cookbook. He was initially skeptical of the name, saying, "I told my wife going home nobody in their right mind would call a company wienerschnitzel. Three days later, I said, 'Hell, it's better than John's Hot Dogs.'" (Orange County Business Journal. "Wienerschnitzel's John Galardi - No Ordinary Hot Dog". March 30, 1987) The first store was opened in 1961[2] as a hot dog stand at 900 West Pacific Coast Highway, east of Figueroa Street, in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington.

In the late 1980s, Galardi converted several stores in the Denver area and other Western cities into The Original Hamburger Stand restaurants. Wienerschnitzels now sell Tastee-Freez ice cream, a brand also owned by Galardi.

John Galardi died of pancreatic cancer on April 13, 2013.[3]

In 2015, the company signed a franchise agreement with International Food Concepts Inc. to plan and open Wienerschnitzel locations in Panama.[1]

Etymology[edit]

"Der Wienerschnitzel" is an example of incorrect use of German by native English speakers.

The expression Wienerschnitzel is German, spelled as a one-word compound as was the standard before the spelling reform of 1996 and is still the standard in Switzerland;[4] however, the correct article to use in this case is the neuter form das,[5] not the masculine der. This is true for both the actual food (das Schnitzel) and the restaurant itself (das Restaurant, das Lokal).

In English, "wiener" (short for "wienerwurst"), from Wiener Würstchen, is a colloquial name for a hot dog.[6] The actual Wiener Schnitzel, however, means "Viennese breaded veal cutlet",[7][8] something the restaurant chain has only served briefly as a limited menu item (in 2017). [9]

The chain changed its name to "Wienerschnitzel" (sans article) in 1977, though many franchises retained the older name on their restaurants and many older customers still refer to the chain as "Der Wienerschnitzel". The restaurant paid homage to its original name in its 2009 marketing slogan, "DERlicious".

Logo, slogans, and advertising[edit]

Soon after the name change, the current Wienerschnitzel "W" logo was created by graphic designer Saul Bass in 1978.[10]

The Delicious One (sometimes referred to as TDO), Wienerschnitzel's mascot, has been featured in some advertising since 1999. The slogan, "The World's Most Wanted Wiener" is used in all of The Delicious One's commercials. The new commercials are more focused on describing their food products and are produced in live action.

Wienerschnitzel uses the slogan "DERlicious" in advertising, relating to before the company dropped the "Der" from its name in 1977. Some other newer commercials use the slogan, "Hot Dogs are DER again!" along with the DERlicious logo.

In celebration of Wienerschnitzel's 50th anniversary, a new slogan was released in 2011 to continue the "Der" theme: "Der fun since '61!".

The history of Wienerschnitzel's slogans, with the years they were used, are:

"Der fun since '61!" (2011–present, in celebration of 50th anniversary of business)

"DERlicious", "Hot Dogs are DER again" (2009)

"Pushing the Boundaries of Taste." (2006-2008)

"Chili Dog Diet." (2005-2006) Chili Yum, Chili Chili, Yum, Yum!

"The World's Most Wanted Wiener" (1999-2005 as main slogan, now used only in The Delicious One commercials)

"Everyone loves a wiener!" (1996-1999)

"Wiener dude attitude!" (1991-1996)

"We're not just a hot dog anymore!" (1984-1991)

"Hamburgers and hot dogs, it's all together now!" (1977-1980)

"Just thinkin' about those hot dogs makes me hungry!" (1974-1977)

"The Hot Dog Place with the Bright Red Roof" (early 1970s)

"Der fixin's are derlightful / there's fun in every bite-ful" (late 1960s)"

"Chili con carne or chilli con carne (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃili koŋ ˈkaɾne]), meaning 'chili with meat', and almost always known as simply chili or chilli, is a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), and often tomatoes and beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin. The original dish originated in southern Texas with working-class Mexican women.

Geographic and personal tastes involve different types of meat and other ingredients. Recipes provoke disputes among aficionados, some of whom insist that the word chili applies only to the basic dish, without beans and tomatoes. Chili con carne is a frequent dish for cook-offs, and the dish is used as an ingredient in other dishes....

Origins and history[edit]

In Spanish, the word chile, from the Nahuatl chīlli, refers to a chili pepper, and carne is Spanish for 'meat'.

A recipe dating back to the 1850s describes dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt, which were pounded together, formed into bricks and left to dry, which could then be boiled in pots on the trail.[1]

Chili originated from what is now northern Mexico and southern Texas.[2] Unlike some other Texas foods, such as barbecued brisket, chili largely originated with working-class Tejana and Mexican women.[2] The chili queens of San Antonio, Texas were particularly famous in previous decades for selling their inexpensive chili-flavored beef stew in their casual "chili joints".[2]

The San Antonio Chili Stand, in operation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, helped popularize chili by giving many Americans their first taste of it. San Antonio was a tourist destination and helped Texas-style chili con carne spread throughout the South and West.[3] Chili con carne is the official dish of the U.S. state of Texas as designated by the House Concurrent Resolution Number 18 of the 65th Texas Legislature during its regular session in 1977.[4]

Chili parlors[edit]

Before World War II, hundreds of small, family-run chili parlors (also known as chili joints) could be found throughout Texas and other states, particularly those in which émigré Texans had made new homes. Each establishment usually had a claim to some kind of secret recipe.

By 1904, chili parlors were opening outside of Texas, in part due to the availability of commercial versions of chili powder, first manufactured in Texas in the late 19th century.[5] After working at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Charles Taylor opened a chili parlor in Carlinville, Illinois, serving Mexican Chili.[6] Varallo's, the oldest restaurant in Tennessee, opened as a chili parlor in 1907, competing with other chili parlors that had opened in Nashville during the 1890s.[7] In the 1920s and 1930s, chains of diner-style chili parlors began opening in the Midwest.

Cincinnati chili, a dish developed by Greek immigrants deriving from their own culinary traditions, arguably represents the most vibrant continuation of the chili parlor tradition, with dozens of restaurants offering this style throughout the Cincinnati area. It can be traced back to at least 1922, when the original Empress Chili location opened.[8]

In Green Bay, Wisconsin, the chili parlor Chili John's has existed since 1913. As with Cincinnati chili, it is most commonly served over spaghetti with oyster crackers, but the recipe is less sweet with a higher proportion of fat.[9] The original proprietor's son opened a second location in Burbank, California in 1946, which is also still in existence.[10]

Until the late 2000s, a chili parlor dating to 1904, O.T. Hodge, continued to operate in St. Louis. It featured a chili-topped dish called a slinger: two cheeseburger patties, hash browns, and two eggs, and smothered in chili.[11] As of 2014 no O.T. Hodge-branded locations remain.

Dispute over ingredients[edit]

Beans[edit]

Beans, a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine, have been associated with chili as far back as the early 20th century.[12] The question of whether beans belong in chili has long been a matter of contention among chili cooks. While it is generally accepted that the earliest chilis did not include beans, proponents of their inclusion contend that chili with beans has a long enough history to be considered authentic.[13] The Chili Appreciation Society International specified in 1999 that, among other things, cooks are forbidden to include beans in the preparation of chili for official competition—nor are they allowed to marinate any meats.[14] Small red or pink common beans are commonly used for chili, as are black-eyed peas, kidney beans, pinto beans, great northern beans, or navy beans.

Most commercially prepared canned chili includes beans. Commercial chili prepared without beans is usually called "chili no beans" in the United States. Some U.S. manufacturers, notably Bush Brothers and Company and Eden Organic, also sell canned precooked beans (without meat) that are labeled "chili beans"; these beans are intended for consumers to add to a chili recipe and are often sold with spices added.

Tomatoes[edit]

Tomatoes are another ingredient on which opinions differ. Wick Fowler, north Texas newspaperman and inventor of "Two-Alarm Chili" (which he later marketed as a kit of spices), insisted on adding tomato sauce to his chili in the ratio of one 15-ounce can per three pounds of meat. He also believed that chili should never be eaten freshly cooked, but refrigerated overnight to seal in the flavor. Matt Weinstock, a Los Angeles newspaper columnist, once remarked that Fowler's chili "was reputed to open eighteen sinus cavities unknown to the medical profession."[15]

Variations[edit]

Vegetarian chili[edit]

Vegetarian chili (also known as chili sin carne, chili without meat, chili non carne, and chili sans carne) acquired wide popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of vegetarianism. It is also popular with those on a diet restricting the use of red meat. To make the chili vegetarian, the cook leaves out the meat or replaces it with a meat analogue, such as textured vegetable protein or tofu, quinoa, or a starchy vegetable, such as potatoes. These chilis nearly always include beans. Variants may contain corn, squash, mushrooms, or beets.

Chili verde[edit]

Chili verde ('green chili') is a moderately to extremely spicy New Mexican stew or sauce usually made from chunks of pork that have been slow-cooked in chicken broth, garlic, green tomatillos, and roasted green chilis.[16] The spiciness of the chili is adjusted by the use of various peppers: poblano, jalapeño, serrano, and occasionally habanero. Chili verde is a common filling for the Mission burrito.

White chili[edit]

White chili is made using chicken or turkey meat and broth, white beans, and green chili peppers. The resulting dish appears white when cooked and is more of a soup rather than a thickened stew. A white cheese, such as Monterey Jack, or sour cream are often added when served.

Accompaniments and additions[edit]

The dish may be served with toppings or accompaniments; grated cheese, diced onions, and sour cream are common toppings, as are saltine crackers, tortilla chips or corn chips, cornbread, rolled-up corn or flour tortillas, and pork tamales. Chili can also be served over rice or pasta such as spaghetti.

Pre-made chili[edit]

Canned chili[edit]

Willie Gebhardt, originally of New Braunfels, Texas, and later of San Antonio, produced the first canned chili in 1908. Rancher Lyman Davis near Corsicana, Texas, developed Wolf Brand Chili in 1895. He owned a meat market and was a particular fan of Texas-style chili. In the 1880s, in partnership with an experienced range cook, he began producing heavily spiced chili based on chunks of lean beef and rendered beef suet, which he sold by the pot to local cafés.

In 1921, Davis began canning his product, naming it for his pet wolf, Kaiser Bill. Wolf Brand canned chili was a favorite of Will Rogers, who always took along a case when traveling and performing in other regions of the world. Ernest Tubb, the country singer, was such a fan that one Texas hotel maintained a supply of Wolf Brand for his visits. Both the Gebhardt and Wolf brands are now owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Another major maker of canned chili, Hormel, sells chili available with or without beans, made with turkey or in vegetarian varieties, under their own name and other brands like Stagg.

Brick chili[edit]

Another method of marketing commercial chili in the days before widespread home refrigerators was "brick chili". It was produced by pressing out nearly all of the moisture, leaving a solid substance roughly the size and shape of a half-brick. Wolf Brand was originally sold in this form.[17] Commonly available in small towns and rural areas of the American Southwest in the first three-quarters of the 20th century, brick chili has largely been surpassed by canned chili, but can still be found in some stores.

Seasoning mix[edit]

Home cooks may also purchase seasoning mixes for chili, including packets of dry ingredients such as chili powder, masa flour, salt, and cayenne pepper, to flavor meat and other ingredients." (wikipedia.org)

"Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25[a][10][11][12] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.[2][13][14] A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night;[15] in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave.[16] Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations,[17][18][19] is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians,[20] as well as culturally by many non-Christians,[1][21] and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.

The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies.[22] When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information.[23]

Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25.[24][25][26] This corresponds to the date of the solstice on the Roman calendar.[27] Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, some Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to a January date in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus' exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.[28][29][30][31]

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins.[32] Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, lighting a Christingle, viewing a Nativity play, an exchange of Christmas cards, church services, a special meal, pulling Christmas crackers and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.[33] Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world....

Etymology

"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass". The word is recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[11] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah", meaning "anointed";[34][35] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.

The form Christenmas was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal;[36] it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".[37] Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous style guides discourage its use;[38] it has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).[37]

Other names

In addition to "Christmas", the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as "midwinter",[39][40] or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from Latin nātīvitās below).[39][41] "Nativity", meaning "birth", is from Latin nātīvitās.[42] In Old English, Gēola (Yule) referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas.[43] "Noel" (or "Nowel") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs) meaning "birth (day)".[44]

Nativity

Main article: Nativity of Jesus

MENU0:25

Gospel according to Saint Luke Chapter 2, v 1–20

The gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. In Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger.[45] Angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him.

Matthew adds that the magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the king of the Jews. King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later returns to Nazareth.

History

Eastern Orthodox icon of the birth of Christ by Saint Andrei Rublev, 15th century

Nativity of Christ, medieval illustration from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)

Adoration of the Shepherds (1622) by Gerard van Honthorst depicts the nativity of Jesus

The nativity stories recounted in Matthew and Luke prompted early Christian writers to suggest various dates for the anniversary.[46] Although no date is indicated in the gospels, early Christians connected Jesus to the Sun through the use of such phrases as "Sun of righteousness."[46][47] The Romans marked the winter solstice on December 25.[27] The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on 25 December 336.[48][49] Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century. After this controversy was played out, the prominence of the holiday declined. The feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day. Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehavior, the Puritans banned Christmas during the Reformation.[50] It was restored as a legal holiday in 1660, but remained disreputable. In the early 19th century, Christmas was reconceived by Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, and other authors as a holiday emphasizing family, children, kind-heartedness, gift-giving, and Santa Claus.[51]

Introduction of feast

Christmas does not appear on the lists of festivals given by the early Christian writers Irenaeus and Tertullian.[11] Origen and Arnobius both fault the pagans for celebrating birthdays, which suggests that Christmas was not celebrated in their time.[52] Arnobius wrote after AD 297. The Chronography of 354 records that a Christmas celebration took place in Rome in 336.[53]

In the East, the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6.[54][55] This holiday was not primarily about the nativity, but rather the baptism of Jesus.[56] Christmas was promoted in the East as part of the revival of Orthodox Christianity that followed the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced in Constantinople in 379, in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the fourth century,[55] probably in 388, and in Alexandria in the following century.[57]

Choice of December 25 as the date of the birth

Main article: Date of birth of Jesus

In the 3rd century, the date of the nativity was the subject of great interest. Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote:

There are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus, and in the 25th day of [the Egyptian month] Pachon [May 20] ... Further, others say that He was born on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi [April 20 or 21].[58]

Various factors contributed to the selection of December 25 as a date of celebration: it was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar and it was about nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox and a date linked to the conception of Jesus (now Annunciation).

Solstice date

Mosaic of Jesus as Christus Sol (Christ the Sun) in Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under St Peter's Basilica in Rome.[59]

December 25 was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar.[27][60] Jesus chose to be born on the shortest day of the year for symbolic reasons, according to an early Christmas sermon by Augustine: "Hence it is that He was born on the day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us up chose the shortest day, yet the one whence light begins to increase."[61]

Linking Jesus to the Sun was supported by various Biblical passages. Jesus was considered to be the "Sun of righteousness" prophesied by Malachi: "Unto you shall the sun of righteousness arise, and healing is in his wings."[47]

Such solar symbolism could support more than one date of birth. An anonymous work known as De Pascha Computus (243) linked the idea that creation began at the spring equinox, on March 25, with the conception or birth (the word nascor can mean either) of Jesus on March 28, the day of the creation of the sun in the Genesis account. One translation reads: "O the splendid and divine providence of the Lord, that on that day, the very day, on which the sun was made, March 28, a Wednesday, Christ should be born.[11][62]

In the 17th century, Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the solstice.[63]

According to Steven Hijmans of the University of Alberta, "It is cosmic symbolism ... which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the southern solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the northern solstice as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as their respective dates of conception."[64]

Calculation hypothesis

The calculation hypothesis suggests that an earlier holiday held on March 25 became associated with the Incarnation.[65] Modern scholars refer to this feast as the Quartodecimal. Christmas was then calculated as nine months later. The calculation hypothesis was proposed by French writer Louis Duchesne in 1889.[66][67] In modern times, March 25 is celebrated as Annunciation. This holiday was created in the seventh century and was assigned to a date that is nine months before Christmas, in addition to being the traditional date of the equinox. It is unrelated to the Quartodecimal, which had been forgotten by this time.[68]

Early Christians celebrated the life of Jesus on a date considered equivalent to 14 Nisan (Passover) on the local calendar. Because Passover was held on the 14th of the month, this feast is referred to as the Quartodecimal. All the major events of Christ's life, especially the passion, were celebrated on this date. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions Passover, presumably celebrated according to the local calendar in Corinth.[69] Tertullian (d. 220), who lived in Latin-speaking North Africa, gives the date of passion celebration as March 25.[70] The date of the passion was moved to Good Friday in 165 when Pope Soter created Easter by reassigning the Resurrection to a Sunday. According to the calculation hypothesis, celebration of the quartodecimal continued in some areas and the feast became associated with Incarnation.

The calculation hypothesis is considered academically to be "a thoroughly viable hypothesis", though not certain.[71] It was a traditional Jewish belief that great men were born and died on the same day, so lived a whole number of years, without fractions: Jesus was therefore considered to have been conceived on March 25, as he died on March 25, which was calculated to have coincided with 14 Nisan.[72] A passage in Commentary on the Prophet Daniel (204) by Hippolytus of Rome identifies December 25 as the date of the nativity. This passage is generally considered a late interpellation. But the manuscript includes another passage, one that is more likely to be authentic, that gives the passion as March 25.[73]

In 221, Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) gave March 25 as the day of creation and of the conception of Jesus in his universal history. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. As this implies a birth in December, it is sometimes claimed to be the earliest identification of December 25 as the nativity. However, Africanus was not such an influential writer that it is likely he determined the date of Christmas.[74]

The tractate De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis Domini nostri Iesu Christi et Iohannis Baptistae, falsely attributed to John Chrysostom, also argued that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same day of the year and calculated this as March 25.[75][76] This anonymous tract also states: "But Our Lord, too, is born in the month of December ... the eight before the calends of January [25 December] ..., But they call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord...? Or, if they say that it is the birthday of the Sun, He is the Sun of Justice."[11]

History of religions hypothesis

The rival "History of Religions" hypothesis suggests that the Church selected December 25 date to appropriate festivities held by the Romans in honor of the Sun god Sol Invictus.[65] This feast was established by Aurelian in 274. An explicit expression of this theory appears in an annotation of uncertain date added to a manuscript of a work by 12th-century Syrian bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi. The scribe who added it wrote:

"It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day."[77]

In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.[78] It has been argued that, on the contrary, the Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[79]

Hermann Usener[80] and others[11] proposed that the Christians chose this day because it was the Roman feast celebrating the birthday of Sol Invictus. Modern scholar S. E. Hijmans, however, states that "While they were aware that pagans called this day the 'birthday' of Sol Invictus, this did not concern them and it did not play any role in their choice of date for Christmas."[64] Moreover, Thomas J. Talley holds that the Roman Emperor Aurelian placed a festival of Sol Invictus on December 25 in order to compete with the growing rate of the Christian Church, which had already been celebrating Christmas on that date first.[81] In the judgement of the Church of England Liturgical Commission, the History of Religions hypothesis has been challenged[82] by a view based on an old tradition, according to which the date of Christmas was fixed at nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, on which the Annunciation was celebrated.[75]

With regard to a December religious feast of the deified Sun (Sol), as distinct from a solstice feast of the birth (or rebirth) of the astronomical sun, one scholar has commented that, "while the winter solstice on or around December 25 was well established in the Roman imperial calendar, there is no evidence that a religious celebration of Sol on that day antedated the celebration of Christmas".[83] "Thomas Talley has shown that, although the Emperor Aurelian's dedication of a temple to the sun god in the Campus Martius (C.E. 274) probably took place on the 'Birthday of the Invincible Sun' on December 25, the cult of the sun in pagan Rome ironically did not celebrate the winter solstice nor any of the other quarter-tense days, as one might expect."[84] The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought remarks on the uncertainty about the order of precedence between the religious celebrations of the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun and of the birthday of Jesus, stating that the hypothesis that December 25 was chosen for celebrating the birth of Jesus on the basis of the belief that his conception occurred on March 25 "potentially establishes 25 December as a Christian festival before Aurelian's decree, which, when promulgated, might have provided for the Christian feast both opportunity and challenge".[85]

Post-classical history

The Nativity, from a 14th-century Missal; a liturgical book containing texts and music necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year

In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in western Christianity focused on the visit of the magi. But the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[86] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[86] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.[86]

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.

The coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas of 800 helped promote the popularity of the holiday

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[86] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[86] "Misrule"—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[86]

Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated ivy, holly, and other evergreens.[87] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.[87] The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, and card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques, and pageants. In 1607, King James I insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games.[88] It was during the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.[89]

Modern history

Associating it with drunkenness and other misbehaviour, the Puritans banned Christmas in England in the 17th century.[50] It was restored as a legal holiday in 1660, but remained disreputable. In the early 19th century, the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church ushered in "the development of richer and more symbolic forms of worship, the building of neo-Gothic churches, and the revival and increasing centrality of the keeping of Christmas itself as a Christian festival" as well as "special charities for the poor" in addition to "special services and musical events".[90] Charles Dickens and other writers helped in this revival of the holiday by "changing consciousness of Christmas and the way in which it was celebrated" as they emphasized family, religion, gift-giving, and social reconciliation as opposed to the historic revelry common in some places.[90]

18th century

Following the Protestant Reformation, many of the new denominations, including the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, continued to celebrate Christmas.[91] In 1629, the Anglican poet John Milton penned On the Morning of Christ's Nativity, a poem that has since been read by many during Christmastide.[92][93] Donald Heinz, a professor at California State University, states that Martin Luther "inaugurated a period in which Germany would produce a unique culture of Christmas, much copied in North America."[94] Among the congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church, Christmas was celebrated as one of the principal evangelical feasts.[95]

However, in 17th century England, some groups such as the Puritans, strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery" or the "rags of the Beast".[50] In contrast, the established Anglican Church "pressed for a more elaborate observance of feasts, penitential seasons, and saints' days. The calendar reform became a major point of tension between the Anglican party and the Puritan party."[96] The Catholic Church also responded, promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old-style Christmas generosity.[88] Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647.[50][97]

Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[50] The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", old Father Christmas and carol singing.[98]

The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas, (1686), published after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England

The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many Calvinist clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. As such, in Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland discouraged the observance of Christmas, and though James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, attendance at church was scant.[99] The Parliament of Scotland officially abolished the observance of Christmas in 1640, claiming that the church had been "purged of all superstitious observation of days".[100] It was not until 1958 that Christmas again became a Scottish public holiday.[101]

Following the Restoration of Charles II, Poor Robin's Almanack contained the lines: "Now thanks to God for Charles return, / Whose absence made old Christmas mourn. / For then we scarcely did it know, / Whether it Christmas were or no."[102] The diary of James Woodforde, from the latter half of the 18th century, details the observance of Christmas and celebrations associated with the season over a number of years.[103]

In Colonial America, the Pilgrims of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas.[104] The Plymouth Pilgrims put their loathing for the day into practice in 1620 when they spent their first Christmas Day in the New World working – thus demonstrating their complete contempt for the day.[104] Non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England.[105] Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659.[104] The ban by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.[106]

At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.[107] Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[108] George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on the day after Christmas during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.

With the atheistic Cult of Reason in power during the era of Revolutionary France, Christian Christmas religious services were banned and the three kings cake was renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical government policies.[109][110]

19th century

Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present. From Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, 1843.

In the UK, Christmas Day became a bank holiday in 1834, Boxing Day was added in 1871.[111]

In the early-19th century, writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol that helped revive the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal merriment.[112][113] Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.[51]

Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, linking "worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation."[114] Superimposing his humanitarian vision of the holiday, in what has been termed "Carol Philosophy",[115] Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit.[116] A prominent phrase from the tale, "Merry Christmas", was popularized following the appearance of the story.[117] This coincided with the appearance of the Oxford Movement and the growth of Anglo-Catholicism, which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances.[118]

The Queen's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, published in the Illustrated London News, 1848, and republished in Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia, December 1850

The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser, with "Bah! Humbug!" dismissive of the festive spirit.[119] In 1843, the first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole.[120] The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William Sandys's "Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern" (1833), with the first appearance in print of "The First Noel", "I Saw Three Ships", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", popularized in Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III. In 1832, the future Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it.[121] After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.[122]

An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created a sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850.[123][124] By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.[123]

In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,[125] and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.[88]

A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by Adolph Tidemand

The Christmas Visit. Postcard, c.1910

In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas).[126] The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[127] This also started the cultural conflict between the holiday's spiritual significance and its associated commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book The First Christmas in New England, Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.[128]

While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so."[129] In Reading, Pennsylvania, a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas—threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth."[129]

The First Congregational Church of Rockford, Illinois, "although of genuine Puritan stock", was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.[129] By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.[130] In 1875, Louis Prang introduced the Christmas card to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American Christmas card".[131] On June 28, 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States federal holiday.[132]

20th century

Up to the 1950s in the UK, many Christmas customs were restricted to the upper classes and better-off families. The mass of the population had not adopted many of the Christmas rituals that later became general. The Christmas tree was rare. Christmas dinner might be beef—certainly not turkey. In their stockings children might get an apple, orange, and sweets. Full celebration of a family Christmas with all the trimmings only became widespread with increased prosperity from the 1950s.[133] National papers were published on Christmas Day until 1912. Post was still delivered on Christmas Day until 1961. League football matches continued in Scotland until the 1970s while in England they ceased at the end of the 1950s.[134][135]

Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other Christian holidays—were prohibited in public.[136] During the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, the League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.[137] At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on crucifixes as a protest against the holiday.[138] It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that the persecution ended and Orthodox Christmas became a state holiday again for the first time in Russia after seven decades.[139]

European History Professor Joseph Perry wrote that likewise, in Nazi Germany, "because Nazi ideologues saw organized religion as an enemy of the totalitarian state, propagandists sought to deemphasize—or eliminate altogether—the Christian aspects of the holiday" and that "Propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regime's racial ideologies."[140]

As Christmas celebrations began to be held around the world even outside traditional Christian cultures in the 20th century, some Muslim-majority countries subsequently banned the practice of Christmas, claiming it undermines Islam.[141]

Customs and traditions

Main article: Christmas traditions

Map of countries where Christmas is a formal public holiday either on December 24–25 or January 6–7

Many Christians attend church services to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.[142]

Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees.

Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macau), the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. Christmas celebrations around the world can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions.

Among countries with a strong Christian tradition, a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures.

Church attendance

Christmas Day (inclusive of its vigil, Christmas Eve), is a Festival in the Lutheran Churches, a holy day of obligation in the Roman Catholic Church, and a Principal Feast of the Anglican Communion. Other Christian denominations do not rank their feast days but nevertheless place importance on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, as with other Christian feasts like Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost.[143] As such, for Christians, attending a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day church service plays an important part in the recognition of the Christmas season. Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance. A 2010 survey by LifeWay Christian Resources found that six in ten Americans attend church services during this time.[144] In the United Kingdom, the Church of England reported an estimated attendance of 2.5 million people at Christmas services in 2015.[145]

Decorations

Main article: Christmas decoration

A typical Neapolitan presepe or presepio, or Nativity scene. Local crèches are renowned for their ornate decorations and symbolic figurines, often mirroring daily life.

The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. In the 15th century, it was recorded that in London it was the custom at Christmas for every house and all the parish churches to be "decked with holm, ivy, bays, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green".[146] The heart-shaped leaves of ivy were said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, while holly was seen as protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries held to represent the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus at the crucifixion and the blood he shed.[147][148]

Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio is the site of this Christmas display with over 3.5 million lights.

Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. They were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe.[149] Different types of decorations developed across the Christian world, dependent on local tradition and available resources, and can vary from simple representations of the crib to far more elaborate sets – renowned manger scene traditions include the colourful Kraków szopka in Poland,[150] which imitate Kraków's historical buildings as settings, the elaborate Italian presepi (Neapolitan, Genoese and Bolognese),[151][152][153][154] or the Provençal crèches in southern France, using hand-painted terracotta figurines called santons.[155] In certain parts of the world, notably Sicily, living nativity scenes following the tradition of Saint Francis are a popular alternative to static crèches.[156][157][158] The first commercially produced decorations appeared in Germany in the 1860s, inspired by paper chains made by children.[159] In countries where a representation of the Nativity scene is very popular, people are encouraged to compete and create the most original or realistic ones. Within some families, the pieces used to make the representation are considered a valuable family heirloom.

The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion, while green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter, and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.[148]

The official White House Christmas tree for 1962, displayed in the Entrance Hall and presented by John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.

The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer, Martin Bucer.[160][161] In the United States, these "German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; the Moravians put lighted candles on those trees."[162][163] When decorating the Christmas tree, many individuals place a star at the top of the tree symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, a fact recorded by The School Journal in 1897.[164][165] Professor David Albert Jones of Oxford University writes that in the 19th century, it became popular for people to also use an angel to top the Christmas tree in order to symbolize the angels mentioned in the accounts of the Nativity of Jesus.[166] The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship;[167] according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus, Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Thor and pointed out a fir tree, which he stated was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to heaven and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the Trinity.[168] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[169] and represents an importation from the German language.[167][170][171]

From Germany the custom was introduced to Britain, first via Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria. By 1841 the Christmas tree had become even more widespread throughout Britain.[122] By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a Christmas tree.[123] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

On Christmas, the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent wreath is traditionally lit in many church services.

Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem; in that country it is known in Spanish as the Flower of the Holy Night.[172][173] Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. The outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Mistletoe features prominently in European myth and folklore (for example the legend of Baldr), it is an evergreen parasitic plant which grows on trees, especially apple and poplar, and turns golden when it is dried. It is customary to hang a sprig of mistletoe in the house at Christmas, and anyone standing underneath it may be kissed. Mistletoe has sticky white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it. This is probably a fertility ritual. The mistletoe berry juice resembles semen.[174]

Outdoor Christmas decoration and lighting

Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare Christians for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world.[175]

Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played from speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places.[176] It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night.

Nativity play

Main article: Nativity play

Children reenact a Nativity play in Oklahoma.

For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is one of the oldest Christmastime traditions, with the first reenactment of the Nativity of Jesus taking place in A.D. 1223.[177] In that year, Francis of Assisi assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in Italy and children sung Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Jesus.[177] Each year, this grew larger and people travelled from afar to see Francis' depiction of the Nativity of Jesus that came to feature drama and music.[177] Nativity plays eventually spread throughout all of Europe, where they remain popular. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services often came to feature Nativity plays, as did schools and theatres.[177] In France, Germany, Mexico and Spain, Nativity plays are often reenacted outdoors in the streets.[177]

Music and carols

Main article: Christmas music

Christmas carolers in Jersey

The earliest extant specifically Christmas hymns appear in fourth-century Rome. Latin hymns such as "Veni redemptor gentium", written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. "Corde natus ex Parentis" ("Of the Father's love begotten") by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.[178] In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.

By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed.[179] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty-five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house.[180]

Child singers in Bucharest, 1841

The songs now known specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie", "Good King Wenceslas", and "The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. "Adeste Fideles" (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.

Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like Martin Luther, wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century. The 18th-century English reformer Charles Wesley understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the Great Awakening in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols. The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later renamed "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing".[181]

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

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Performed by the U.S. Army Band Chorus

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Felix Mendelssohn wrote a melody adapted to fit Wesley's words. In Austria in 1818 Mohr and Gruber made a major addition to the genre when they composed "Silent Night" for the St. Nicholas Church, Oberndorf. William Sandys' Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic English carols, and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the festival.[182]

Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck the Halls" dates from 1784, and the American "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An increasing number of seasonal holidays songs were commercially produced in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition, there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and classical music. John Rutter has composed many carols including "All Bells in Paradise", "Angels' Carol", "Candlelight Carol", "Donkey Carol", "Jesus Child", "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" and "Star Carol".

Traditional cuisine

Christmas pudding cooked on Stir-up Sunday, the Sunday before the beginning of the Advent season

A special Christmas family meal is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions have special meals for Christmas Eve, such as Sicily, where 12 kinds of fish are served. In the United Kingdom and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey, goose or other large bird, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies, fruit cake and Yule log cake.[183][184]

Christmas table in Serbia

In Poland and other parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Sweden it is common with a special variety of smörgåsbord, where ham, meatballs and herring play a prominent role. In Germany, France, and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham, and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world. The Maltese traditionally serve Imbuljuta tal-Qastan,[185] a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after Midnight Mass and throughout the Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional Christmas bread potica, bûche de Noël in France, panettone in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter Christmas delicacies include the German stollen, marzipan cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges have been long associated with special Christmas foods. Eggnog is a sweetened dairy-based beverage traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, and whipped eggs (which gives it a frothy texture). Spirits such as brandy, rum or bourbon are often added. The finished serving is often garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

Cards

A 1907 Christmas card with Santa and some of his reindeer

Main article: Christmas card

Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843.[186] The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide cross-section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards exchanging E-cards.

Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season. The content of the design might relate directly to the Christmas narrative, with depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christian symbols such as the Star of Bethlehem, or a white dove, which can represent both the Holy Spirit and Peace on Earth. Other Christmas cards are more secular and can depict Christmas traditions, mythical figures such as Santa Claus, objects directly associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated with the season, such as Christmastide activities, snow scenes and the wildlife of the northern winter. There are even humorous cards and genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as crinolined shoppers in idealized 19th-century streetscapes.

Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer, or Biblical verse; while others distance themselves from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings".

Christmas stamp released in the United States in 1982, featuring a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Commemorative stamps

Main article: Christmas stamp

A number of nations have issued commemorative stamps at Christmastide. Postal customers will often use these stamps to mail Christmas cards, and they are popular with philatelists. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are valid for postage year-round. They usually go on sale some time between early October and early December, and are printed in considerable quantities.

Gift giving

Christmas gifts under a Christmas tree

The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. On Christmas, people exchange gifts based on the Christian tradition associated with Saint Nicholas,[187] and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were given to the baby Jesus by the Magi.[188][189] The practice of gift giving in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia may have influenced Christian Christian customs, but on the other hand the Christian "core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event", because it was the Biblical Magi, "together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life."[190]

Gift-bearing figures

Main articles: Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and Christkind

Christmas gift-bringers in Europe

Saint Nicholas, known as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, is considered by many to be the original Santa Claus[191]

A number of figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus (derived from the Dutch for Saint Nicholas), Père Noël, and the Weihnachtsmann; Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas; the Christkind; Kris Kringle; Joulupukki; tomte/nisse; Babbo Natale; Saint Basil; and Ded Moroz. The Scandinavian tomte (also called nisse) is sometimes depicted as a gnome instead of Santa Claus.

The best known of these figures today is red-dressed Santa Claus, of diverse origins. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek bishop of Myra, a city in the Roman province of Lycia, whose ruins are 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from modern Demre in southwest Turkey.[192][193] Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast day, December 6, came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts.[89]

Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.[89]

The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the American Revolutionary War, some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.[194]

In 1809, the New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam, the Dutch name for New York City.[195] At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However, as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire.[196] Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the modern vision of the figure, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s[197] and continues through the present day.[198][199]

Santa Claus reacts to a toy request (Jonathan Meath as Santa)

Father Christmas, a jolly, stout, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness rather than the bringing of gifts.[169] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence.[200] Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas.[201] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a book-length study in 1978;[202] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.[203]

Current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela and Colombia) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes, a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

In South Tyrol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland, the Christkind (Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from Saint Basil on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast.[204] The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus / Father Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts, and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[205]

Multiple gift-giver figures exist in Poland, varying between regions and individual families. St Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) dominates Central and North-East areas, the Starman (Gwiazdor) is most common in Greater Poland, Baby Jesus (Dzieciątko) is unique to Upper Silesia, with the Little Star (Gwiazdka) and the Little Angel (Aniołek) being common in the South and the South-East. Grandfather Frost (Dziadek Mróz) is less commonly accepted in some areas of Eastern Poland.[206][207] It is worth noting that across all of Poland, St Nicholas is the gift giver on the Saint Nicholas Day on December 6." (wikipedia.org)

"Xmas (also X-mas) is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced /ˈɛksməs/, but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /ˈkrɪsməs/. The "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós (Χριστός), which became Christ in English.[1] The suffix -mas is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass.[2]

There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas[3] by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas", but its use dates back to the 16th century....

History[edit]

Use in English[edit]

"Xmas" used on a Christmas postcard, 1910

Early use of "Xmas" includes Bernard Ward's History of St. Edmund's college, Old Hall (originally published circa 1755).[9] An earlier version, "X'temmas", dates to 1551.[9] Around 1100 the term was written as "Xp̄es mæsse" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.[1] "Xmas" is found in a letter from George Woodward in 1753.[10] Lord Byron used the term in 1811,[11] as did Samuel Coleridge (1801)[5] and Lewis Carroll (1864).[11] In the United States, the fifth American edition of William Perry's Royal Standard English Dictionary, published in Boston in 1800, included in its list of "Explanations of Common Abbreviations, or Contraction of Words" the entry: "Xmas. Christmas."[12] Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. used the term in a letter dated 1923.[11] Since at least the late 19th century, "Xmas" has been in use in various other English-language nations. Quotations with the word can be found in texts first written in Canada,[13] and the word has been used in Australia,[7] and in the Caribbean.[14] Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage stated that modern use of the term is largely limited to advertisements, headlines and banners, where its conciseness is valued. The association with commerce "has done nothing for its reputation", according to the dictionary.[11]

In the United Kingdom, the former Church of England Bishop of Blackburn, Alan Chesters, recommended to his clergy that they avoid the spelling.[5] In the United States, in 1977 New Hampshire Governor Meldrim Thomson sent out a press release saying that he wanted journalists to keep the "Christ" in Christmas, and not call it Xmas—which he called a "pagan" spelling of Christmas.[15]

Use of "X" for "Christ"[edit]

For the article about the χρ symbol, see Chi Rho.

The Chi-Rho is a Christian symbol representing Christ.

The abbreviation of Christmas as "Xmas" is a source of disagreement among Christians who observe the holiday.

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, a conservative organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett,[16] attacked the use of Xmas in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity". The claims were picked up later by Gerald L. K. Smith, who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity." Smith further argued that Jews introduced Santa Claus to suppress the New Testament accounts of Jesus, and that the United Nations, at the behest of "world Jewry", had "outlawed the name of Christ".[17] There is, however, a well documented history of use of Χ (actually a chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός) and possibly also a symbol of the cross.[18][19] The abbreviation appears on many Orthodox Christian religious icons.

Dennis Bratcher, writing for a website for Christians, states "there are always those who loudly decry the use of the abbreviation 'Xmas' as some kind of blasphemy against Christ and Christianity".[20] Among them are evangelist Franklin Graham and former CNN contributor Roland S. Martin. Graham stated in an interview:

"for us as Christians, this is one of the most holy of the holidays, the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. And for people to take Christ out of Christmas. They're happy to say merry Xmas. Let's just take Jesus out. And really, I think, a war against the name of Jesus Christ."[21]

Roland Martin likewise relates the use of "Xmas" to his growing concerns of increasing commercialization and secularization of one of Christianity's highest holy days.[22] Bratcher posits that those who dislike abbreviating the word are unfamiliar with a long history of Christians using X in place of "Christ" for various purposes.

The word "Christ" and its compounds, including "Christmas", have been abbreviated in English for at least the past 1,000 years, long before the modern "Xmas" was commonly used. "Christ" was often written as "Xρ" or "Xt"; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as 1021. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters χ (Ch) and ρ (R) used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for "Christ").[1] The Chi-Rho, an amalgamation of the two Greek letters rendered as ☧ (Unicode character U+2627 ☧ CHI RHO) is a symbol often used to represent Christ in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian Churches.[23]

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the OED Supplement have cited usages of "X-" or "Xp-" for "Christ-" as early as 1485. The terms "Xtian" and less commonly "Xpian" have also been used for "Christian". The OED further cites usage of "Xtianity" for "Christianity" from 1634.[1] According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, most of the evidence for these words comes from "educated Englishmen who knew their Greek".[11]

In ancient Christian art, χ and χρ are abbreviations for Christ's name.[24] In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, Χ is an abbreviation for Χριστος,[25] as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma);[26] compare IC for Jesus in Greek.

Other uses of "X(t)" for "Chris(t)-"[edit]

Other proper names containing the name "Christ" besides those mentioned above are sometimes abbreviated similarly, either as "X" or "Xt", both of which have been used historically,[27] e.g., "Xtopher" or "Xopher" for "Christopher", or "Xtina" or "Xina" for the name "Christina".

In the 17th and 18th centuries, "Xene" and "Exene" were common spellings for the given name Christine. The American singer Christina Aguilera has sometimes gone by the name "Xtina". Similarly, Exene Cervenka has been a noted American singer-songwriter since 1977.

This usage of "X" to spell the syllable "kris" (rather than the sounds "ks") has extended to "xtal" for "crystal", and on florists' signs to "xant" for "chrysanthemum",[28] even though these words are not etymologically related to "Christ": "crystal" comes from a Greek word meaning "ice" (and not even using the letter χ), and "chrysanthemum" comes from Greek words meaning "golden flower", while "Christ" comes from a Greek word meaning "anointed"." (wikipedia.org)

"A hot dog[1][2] (also spelled hotdog[citation needed]) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun.[3] It can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (Frankfurter Würstchen, also just called frank). The names of these sausages also commonly refer to their assembled dish.[4] Hot dog preparation and condiments vary worldwide. Typical condiments include mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, and cheese sauce, and common garnishes include onions, sauerkraut, jalapeños, chili, grated cheese, coleslaw, bacon, and olives. Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pigs in a blanket. The hot dog's cultural traditions include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

These types of sausages were culturally imported from Germany and became popular in the United States. It became a working-class street food in the U.S., sold at stands and carts. The hot dog became closely associated with baseball and American culture. Although particularly connected with New York City and its cuisine, the hot dog eventually became ubiquitous throughout the US during the 20th century. Its preparation varies regionally in the country, emerging as an important part of other regional cuisines, including Chicago street cuisine....

History
File:Coney Island Hot Dogs (1940).webmPlay media
A hot dog as served on Coney Island in 1940

The word "frankfurter" comes from Frankfurt, Germany, where pork sausages similar to hot dogs originated.[8] These sausages, Frankfurter Würstchen, were known since the 13th century and given to the people on the event of imperial coronations, starting with the coronation of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor as King. "Wiener" refers to Vienna, Austria (German: Wien), home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef.[9] Johann Georg Lahner, an 18th/19th century butcher from the Franconian city of Coburg, is said to have brought the Frankfurter Würstchen to Vienna, where he added beef to the mixture and simply called it Frankfurter.[10] Nowadays, in German-speaking countries, except Austria, hot dog sausages are called Wiener or Wiener Würstchen (Würstchen means "little sausage"), to differentiate them from the original pork-only mixture from Frankfurt. In Swiss German, it is called Wienerli, while in Austria the terms Frankfurter or Frankfurter Würstel are used.
Carts selling frankfurters in New York City, circa 1906. The price is listed as "3 cents each or 2 for 5 cents".

A German immigrant named Feuchtwanger, from Frankfurt, in Hesse, allegedly pioneered the practice in the American midwest; there are several versions of the story with varying details. According to one account, Feuchtwanger's wife proposed the use of a bun in 1880: Feuchtwanger sold hot dogs on the streets of St. Louis, Missouri, and provided gloves to his customers so that they could handle the sausages without burning their hands. Losing money when customers did not return the gloves, Feuchtwanger's wife suggested serving the sausages in a roll instead.[11] In another version, Antoine Feuchtwanger, or Anton Ludwig Feuchtwanger, served sausages in rolls at the World's Fair – either at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis,[12][13] or, earlier, at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago[14] – again, allegedly because the white gloves provided to customers to protect their hands were being kept as souvenirs.[15]

Another possible origin for serving the sausages in rolls is the pieman Charles Feltman, at Coney Island in New York City. In 1867 he had a cart made with a stove on which to boil sausages, and a compartment to keep buns in which they were served fresh. In 1871 he leased land to build a permanent restaurant, and the business grew, selling far more than just the "Coney Island Red Hots" as they were known.[16][17][18]
Etymology
File:Dog Factory (1904).ogvPlay media
Dog Factory, a short film by Thomas Edison poking fun at what went into hot dogs in 1904

The term dog has been used as a synonym for sausage since the 1800s, possibly from accusations that sausage makers used dog meat in their sausages.[19] In the early 20th century, consumption of dog meat in Germany was common.[20][21] The suspicion that sausages contained dog meat was "occasionally justified".[22]

An early use of the term hot dog in reference to sausage-meat appears in the Evansville (Indiana) Daily Courier (September 14, 1884):

    even the innocent 'wienerworst' man will be barred from dispensing hot dog on the street corner.[23]

It was used to mean a sausage in casing in the Paterson (New Jersey) Daily Press (31 December 1892):

    the 'hot dog' was quickly inserted in a gash in a roll.[23]

Subsequent uses include the New Brunswick (New Jersey) Daily Times (May 20, 1893), the New York World (May 26, 1893), and the Knoxville (Tennessee) Journal (September 28, 1893).[24]

According to one story, the use of the complete phrase hot dog in reference to sausage was coined by the newspaper cartoonist Thomas Aloysius "Tad" Dorgan around 1900 in a cartoon recording the sale of hot dogs during a New York Giants baseball game at the Polo Grounds.[19]
Tad Dorgan's Indoor Sports strip from January 8, 1916, using the term "hot dog".

However, Dorgan's earliest usage of hot dog was not in reference to a baseball game at the Polo Grounds, but to a bicycle race at Madison Square Garden, in The New York Evening Journal December 12, 1906, by which time the term hot dog in reference to sausage was already in use.[19][24] No copy of the apocryphal cartoon has ever been found.[25]
General description
Grilled hot dogs
Ingredients

Common hot dog sausage ingredients include:[26]

    Meat trimmings and fat, e.g. mechanically separated meat, pink slime, meat slurry
    Flavorings, such as salt, garlic, and paprika
    Preservatives (cure) – typically sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite

Pork and beef are the traditional meats used in hot dogs. Less expensive hot dogs are often made from chicken or turkey, using low-cost mechanically separated poultry. Changes in meat technology and dietary preferences have led manufacturers to lower the salt content and use turkey, chicken, and vegetarian meat substitutes.
Commercial preparation
File:This Is Hormel (1964) hot dog segment.webmPlay media
Hormel hot dogs going into a smoker (1964)

Hot dogs are prepared commercially by mixing the ingredients (meats, spices, binders and fillers) in vats where rapidly moving blades grind and mix the ingredients in the same operation. This mixture is forced through tubes into casings for cooking. Most hot dogs sold in the US are "skinless" rather than "natural casing" sausages.
Natural-casing hot dogs

As with most sausages, hot dogs must be in a casing to be cooked. Traditional casing is made from the small intestines of sheep. The products are known as "natural casing" hot dogs or frankfurters.[27] These hot dogs have firmer texture and a "snap" that releases juices and flavor when the product is bitten.[27]

Kosher casings are expensive in commercial quantities in the US, so kosher hot dogs are usually skinless or made with reconstituted collagen casings.[27]
Skinless hot dogs

"Skinless" hot dogs use a casing for cooking, but the casing may be a long tube of thin cellulose that is removed between cooking and packaging, a process invented in Chicago in 1925[28] by Erwin O. Freund, founder of Visking.[29]

The first skinless hot dog casings were produced by Freund's new company under the name "Nojax", short for "no jackets" and sold to local Chicago sausage makers.

Skinless hot dogs vary in surface texture, but have a softer "bite" than with natural casing. Skinless hot dogs are more uniform in shape and size and cheaper to make than natural casing hot dogs.
Home consumption

A hot dog may be prepared and served in various ways.[30] Typically it is served in a hot dog bun with various condiments and toppings. The sausage itself may be sliced and added, without bread, to other dishes.

    Hot dog garnished with ketchup and onions

    Hot dogs being grilled

    A hot dog bun toaster

Sandwich debate

There is an ongoing debate about whether or not a hot dog fits the description of a sandwich.[31][32] The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) has declared that a hot dog is not a sandwich.[33] Hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut and former hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi agree with the NHDSC.[34][35] Dictionary Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, has stated that a hot dog is indeed a sandwich.[36] Former United States Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also weighed in on the matter, stating that a hot dog might be categorized to be a sandwich, but ultimately it comes down to the definition of a sandwich.[37] She went on to acknowledge that a hot dog bun is a single roll that is not sliced all the way through and in that way is similar to a submarine sandwich.[38] The topic remains widely and heatedly debated in online internet forums. In 2011, Panini Happy ran an online survey with a slight majority of respondents (54%) indicating that they do not consider hot dogs to be sandwiches.[39] A 2020 survey indicated that public opinion may be shifting and that 64% of respondents do not consider a hot dog to be a sandwich.[40]
Health risks
File:A Mark of Wholesome Meat (1964).ogvPlay media
United States Department of Agriculture 1964 film on hot dog and other meat inspection

Although hot dogs are cooked during manufacture, it is still recommended that they are heated to an internal temperature of at least 165°F (75°C) prior to consumption.[41]

Most hot dogs are high in fat and salt and have preservatives sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, which are contributors to nitrate-containing chemicals classified as group 1 carcinogens by the World Health Organization,[42] although this has been disputed.[43][44] These health concerns have resulted in manufacturers offering alternative product lines made from turkey and chicken, and uncured, low-sodium, and "all-natural" franks. Hot dogs have relatively low carcinogenic heterocyclic amine (HCA) levels compared to other types of ready-to-eat meat products because they are manufactured at low temperatures.[45]

An American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) report found that consuming one daily 50-gram serving of processed meat — about one hot dog — increases long-term risk of colorectal cancer by 20 percent.[46] Thus, eating a hot dog every day would increase the probability of contracting colorectal cancer from 5.8 percent to 7 percent. The AICR's warning campaign has been criticized as being "attack ads".[44][47] The Cancer Project group filed a class-action lawsuit demanding warning labels on packages and at sporting events.[48]

Like many foods, hot dogs can cause illness if not heated properly to kill pathogens. An unopened package of hot dogs contains ingredients that have the potential for promoting the growth of Listeria bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes can also cause serious infections in infants and pregnant women, and can be transmitted to an infant in utero or after birth. Adults with suppressed immune systems can also be harmed.[49]

Due to their size, shape, and ubiquitous consumption, hot dogs present a significant choking risk, especially for children. A study in the US found that 17% of food-related asphyxiations among children younger than 10 years of age were caused by hot dogs.[50] The risk of choking on a hot dog is greatly reduced by slicing it. It has been suggested that redesign of the size, shape and texture of hot dogs would reduce the choking risk.[51]
In the United States
Hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, raw onion, fried onion, artificial bacon bits, and sliced pickle

In the US, the term "hot dog" refers to both the sausage by itself and the combination of sausage and bun. Many nicknames applying to either have emerged over the years, including frankfurter, frank, wiener, weenie, coney, and red hot. Annually, Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs.[52]
Hot dog restaurants

Stands and trucks sell hot dogs at street and highway locations. Wandering hot dog vendors sell their product in baseball parks. At convenience stores, hot dogs are kept heated on rotating grills. 7-Eleven sells the most grilled hot dogs in North America — 100 million annually.[53] Hot dogs are also common on restaurants' children's menus. Fast-food restaurant chains typically do not carry hot dogs because of its shorter shelf-life, more complex toppings & cooking, and a mismatched consumer expectations.[54] There are also restaurants where hot dogs are a specialty.
Condiments
A Coney Island hot dog with chili, onion, and mustard

Hot dogs are commonly served with one or more condiments. In 2005, the US-based National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (part of the American Meat Institute) found mustard to be the most popular, preferred by 32% of respondents; 23% favored ketchup; 17% chili; 9% pickle relish, and 7% onions. Other toppings include sauerkraut, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and chili peppers.

Condiment preferences vary across the U.S.. Southerners showed the strongest preference for chili, while Midwesterners showed the greatest affinity for ketchup.[55]
Variations
For a list of regional differences in hot dog preparation and condiments, see Hot dog variations.
   
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A lamb "hot dog" in Sonoma, California.

Many variations are named after regions other than the one in which they are popular. The "New York dog" or "New York style" hot dog, is a natural-casing all-beef frank topped with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard, onions optional. Sauteed bell peppers, onions, and potatoes find their way into New Jersey's deep-fried Italian hot dog. In the midwest, the Chicago-style hot dog is served on a poppy seed bun and topped with mustard, fresh tomatoes, onions, "sport peppers", bright green relish, dill pickles, and celery salt. Michigan hot dogs are popular in upstate New York (as are white hots), while Coney Island hot dogs are popular in Michigan. Hot wieners, or weenies, are a staple in Rhode Island where they are sold at restaurants with the misleading name "New York System."[56] Texas hot dogs are spicy variants found in upstate New York and Pennsylvania (and as "all the way dogs" in New Jersey), but not Texas. In the Philadelphia metro area, Texas Tommy refers to a hot dog variant in which the dog is topped with melted cheddar or another cheese and wrapped in bacon.

Some baseball parks have signature hot dogs, such as Dodger Dogs at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and Fenway Franks at Fenway Park in Boston, which are boiled then grilled, and served on a New England-style bun.
In Canada

Skinner's Restaurant, in Lockport, Manitoba, is reputed to be Canada's oldest hot dog outlet in continuous operation, founded in 1929 by Jim Skinner Sr.[57][58] Hot dogs served at Skinner's are European style foot-long (30.5 cm) hot dogs with natural casings, manufactured by Winnipeg Old Country Sausage in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Half Moon Drive In, also in Lockport, Manitoba, and located directly across the river from Skinner's, was established in 1938 by brothers Peter and Louie Kosowicz.[59] The original drive-in consisted of three wooden buildings shaped like semicircles — one was for takeout, one was for dine-in, and the third was a dance hall and later an arcade.[59] The Half Moon also serves European-style wieners manufactured by Winnipeg Old Country Sausage.[59] One of the most popular items on the menu is the Moon Dog, consisting of a hot dog topped with cheese, bacon, fried onions, pickles and mustard; the Half Moon serves about 2,000 on an average summer weekend day.[59]
Outside North America
For a list of international differences in hot dogs, see Hot dog variations.

In most of the world, a "hot dog" is recognized as a sausage in a bun, but the type varies considerably. The name is often applied to something that would not be described as a hot dog in North America. For example, in New Zealand a "hot dog" is a battered sausage, often on a stick, which is known as a corn dog in North America; an "American hot dog" is the version in a bun.
Gallery

    Grilled sausages on sticks for sale in Thailand

    Hot dog sushi

    Thai khanom Tokiao being prepared, a Thai style crêpe with a hot dog sausage, at a night market

    Miniature hot dogs in Japan

    Long hot dog in bun

Records
Pictured in August 2006, the world's longest hot dog stretched 60 meters (197 ft).

The world's longest hot dog was 60 meters (197 ft) long and rested within a 60.3-meter (198 ft) bun. The hot dog was prepared by Shizuoka Meat Producers for the All-Japan Bread Association, which baked the bun and coordinated the event, including official measurement for the world record. The hot dog and bun were the center of a media event in celebration of the Association's 50th anniversary on August 4, 2006, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo.

On May 31, 2012, Guinness World Records certified the world record for the most expensive hot dog at USD$145.49. The "California Capitol City Dawg", served at Capitol Dawg in Sacramento, California, features a grilled 460 mm (18 in) all-beef, natural-casing frank from Chicago, served on a fresh-baked herb-and-oil focaccia roll, spread with white truffle butter, then grilled. It is topped with whole-grain mustard from France, garlic and herb mayonnaise, sauteed chopped shallots, organic mixed baby greens, maple syrup-marinated and fruitwood-smoked uncured bacon from New Hampshire, chopped tomato, moose cheese from Sweden, sweetened dried cranberries, basil olive oil and pear-cranberry-coconut balsamic vinaigrette, and ground peppercorn. Proceeds from the sale of each 1.4 kg (3 lb) super dog were donated to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.[60]

Hot dogs are a popular food for eating competitions. The record for hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes is 75 hot dogs. This record is held by Joey Chestnut, who achieved this feat at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, 2020, beating his previous record of 74.[61] The last person to hold the record before Chestnut was Takeru Kobayashi. Competitive eater Miki Sudo holds the record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes by a female at 48.5 hot dogs, also setting this record on July 4, 2020.[62] The last person to hold the record before Sudo was Sonya Thomas." (wikipedia.org)

"Chili dog is the generic name for a hot dog served in a bun and topped with some sort of meat sauce, such as chili con carne. Often other toppings are also added, such as cheese, onions, and mustard. The style has multiple regional variations in the United States, many calling for specific and unique sauce ingredients, types of hot dogs, or types of buns and referred to regionally under region-specific names....

Regional variations
Texas wiener
See also: Texas Tommy (hot dog)

In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the "Texas hot dog", "Texas chili dog." "Texas hot'," or "Texas wiener" is a hot dog with chili or hot sauce; it is served in variations with assorted condiments. The Texas wiener was created in Paterson, New Jersey, before 1920[1] and in Altoona, Pennsylvania, by Peter "George" Koufougeorgas in 1918[2] and originally called Texas Hot Wieners. The "Texas" reference is to the chili sauce used on the dogs, which actually has a stronger Greek cuisine influence due to the ethnicity of the cooks who invented it. It is considered a unique regional hot dog style. From its origins, the invention spread to the Pennsylvania cities of Scranton and Philadelphia.[3] By the 1920s, it had reached Western New York, where numerous longstanding hot dog stands still remain, including a stand run by the Rigas Family (dating to 1921)[4] and Ted's Hot Dogs (which opened in 1927).
Coney Island hot dog
Main article: Coney Island hot dog
A Flint-style Coney Island hot dog

In southeastern Michigan, a Coney Island hot dog is a European-style Frankfurter Würstel (Vienna sausage) of German origin with a natural lamb or sheep casing, topped with a beef heart-based sauce, which was developed by Macedonian and Greek immigrants in the area. It has several local variations, including Detroit style, Flint style, and Jackson style.
Hot wiener
Main article: Hot wiener

In Rhode Island the hot wiener or New York System wiener is a staple of the food culture and is served at "New York System" restaurants. The traditional wiener is made with a small, thin hot dog made of veal and pork, giving it a different taste from a traditional beef hot dog, served in a steamed bun, and topped with celery salt, yellow mustard, chopped onions, and a seasoned meat sauce.
Michigan hot dog
Main article: Michigan hot dog

In the North Country of New York State, a Michigan hot dog, or "Michigan", is a steamed hot dog on a steamed bun topped with a meaty sauce, generally referred to as "Michigan sauce."
Cheese coney
Main article: Cincinnati chili
Cheese coneys

In Greater Cincinnati, Cheese coneys or Coney Islands (without the cheese) are hot dogs in buns topped with Cincinnati chili (a Greek-inspired meat sauce), onions, mustard, and cheese.
Carolina style
Main article: Carolina style

In North Carolina, hot dogs topped with chili, onions, and either mustard or slaw are referred to as "Carolina style", which is also used to refer to hamburgers with similar toppings.
Half-smoke
Main article: Half-smoke
A half-smoke

In Washington, D.C., the half-smoke is similar to a hot dog, but usually larger, spicier, and with more coarsely-ground meat, the sausage is often half-pork and half-beef, smoked, and served with herbs, onion, and chili sauce." (wikipedia.org)

"A chili burger (also known as a chili size,[1] or simply size,[2][3] stemming from "hamburger size"[4]) is a type of hamburger. It consists of a hamburger, with the patty topped with chili con carne.[5] It is often served open-faced, and sometimes the chili is served alongside the burger rather than on top. The chili may be served alone, or with cheese, onions, or occasionally tomatoes as garnishes....,

History

Chili burgers appear to have been invented in the 1920s by Thomas M. "Ptomaine Tommy" DeForest, who founded a sawdust-floored all-night restaurant, "Ptomaine Tommy's", located in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ptomaine Tommy's was open from around 1919 to 1958, where his chili burger was referred to as "size", and chopped onions as "flowers" or "violets".[2][6]

The term size for a chili burger arguably derives from the portion size of the chili used at Ptomaine Tommy's.[1][7] Ptomaine Tommy "had two ladles, a large and a small"[3] with which to serve his chili, whether smothered on top of the burger or in a bowl;[3] originally the ordering lingo used by his patrons was "hamburger size"[3][4] vs. "steak size",[4] but later simplified to "size" and "oversize".[4] The use of the shorthand term "size" for burger-size portion of chili (in a bowl or on a burger) then gained currency throughout Los Angeles.[3] Ptomaine Tommy was forced to close his restaurant August 10, 1958 and sell his property to satisfy creditors,[8] and he died just a week later.[9][10] His service to the community and his invention was noted by resolution of the California State Senate that same year.[2]

Food author John T. Edge considers the invention the milestone that marks the start of "traceable history of burgers in LA", a first step to what he considers the "baroque" character of the Los Angeles hamburger scene.[11] By interviewing former customers and friends decades after the fact, columnist Jack Smith wrote a definitive article in 1974 about DeForest and the dish that he had invented which became a very important part of the history of Los Angeles.[12] What helped spread the popularity of this dish was Deforest's diverse clientele which included doctors coming off the late shift at the local county hospital, fight fans on their way home after attending matches at the Olympic Auditorium, and people associated with the Hollywood film industry.[12][13]

Several US food chains specialize in chili burgers. One of these is Original Tommy's, which dates to 1946.[14][15]
Variations
Carolina Burger

The Carolina Burger is a regional variant of the chili burger served with coleslaw, mustard and chopped onions.[16] Common in local restaurants in the Carolinas, it is also periodically offered at Wendy's restaurants as the Carolina Classic." (wikipedia.org)