Christmas has been a big staple in everyone’s household since before we were born. Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages, with German and other European settlers popularizing Christmas trees in America by the early 19th century. A woodsman from New York named Mark Carr is credited with opening the first U.S. Christmas tree lot in 1851. Carr heard stories about families driving outside of town to go find and chop down evergreen trees to drag back into the city. Carr wanted to bring the forest to the people who lived in the city, and driven by the spirit of the holidays, decided to chop down a couple dozen fir and spruce trees and transport them to Manhattan on a ferry. Carr ended up setting up shop in Washington Market and paid one dollar for the privilege of taking up sidewalk space. His entire stock of evergreens sold out in only one day, and the tradition of selling Christmas trees from lots was born quickly and spread throughout the United States. 

     Since 1925, first known as the Missouri Rockets, this iconic dance staple has been kicking up its heels, officially becoming known as the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in 1934. From performing at movie openings to entertaining troops to making TV appearances, they’re perhaps best known for their annual Christmas Spectacular.  For nearly a century, the Rockettes have been American icons. Not only have they appeared at Radio City Music Hall in thousands of stage spectaculars, but the dance company has also performed at the center of many memorable moments in history. The Rockettes got their inspiration from a British dance troupe formed by John Tiller (“The Tiller Girls” performed in a 1922 Ziegfeld Follies production). Russel (the Rockettes’ chief choreographer) wanted to achieve absolute precision and ultimate uniformity in the movements of the dancers. Originally, a Rockette had to be between 5’2 and 5’6 ½, but today, she is between 5’5 and 5’10 ½ and has to be proficient in tap, modern, jazz, and ballet. Starting with just 16 women, over the years, the troupe grew to a line of 36 dancers. Now, the Rockettes have been American Icons. They are symbols of what you can achieve if you move with passion, dream big, work hard, and, most importantly, believe in yourself. 

     The Elf on the Shelf is something that most households have. It’s a beautiful tradition that brings kids to love Christmas even more. You either love it or loathe it, and since 2005, moms and dads have either joyously or begrudgingly been hiding a toy elf each night from the start of their Christmas season to Christmas day. More than 13 million elves have been “adopted” since 2005 when Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chandra Bell, published the book Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition that comes with the toy. This Elf is seemingly supposed to sit on any piece of furniture that you own in your house and watch your kid through the Christmas season and be able to report back to Santa Claus at night on whether your kid will be on the naughty or nice list and in the morning it will be back in a new spot and your child will be able to see the elf in a new spot. Elf on the Shelves has been able to make kids more and more excited about the Christmas season and has been able to continue even through all these years.