We've all probably built dozens of them in our lifetime, or helped someone.  Snowmen adorn the snow-covered lawns of families across the world.  Sometimes it's just one, sometimes an entire family of snow people. And there was nothing as fun as finding old clothes and other items around your house to bring him to life.  Afterwards, as long as it stayed cold enough outside, your new frosty friend was there to greet visitors to your home for days to come.

For those in warmer climates who've never experienced this fun activity, a snowman is a man-like figure constructed from compacted snow. The image of a snowman is popularly connected with Christmas and is fixed in Western culture.

A snowman can be constructed by rolling a large ball of snow for its body. A second or third smaller ball is placed on top, as its middle body and head. Facial features, such as eyes and a mouth are added using coal, small stones, twigs, yarn or buttons. A nose may be added, using a piece of fruit or a vegetable, such as a carrot; sticks are sometimes added as arms. Snowmen are often depicted with a pipe and a hat. However, depending on the creativity of the person or people who made him, a snowman could be adorned in just about anything imaginable.  In the United Kingdom and Japan, snowmen commonly are built with two balls of snow, whereas in the United States three large balls are generally used. 

Frosty, the most famous of snowmen, was a Tin Pan Alley novelty song created by Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins in 1950. Gene Autry bought the rights to it and recorded it.  Golden Books also published an illustrated children's book about Frosty later that same year. 

So this winter season, put on your warmest coat and mittens, find a magical hat all your own, and bring your own snowman to life right in your front yard. Colorful crayons on white paper work just as well if you live where it's sunny!

A candy cane is a hard cane-shaped candy stick. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint; however, it is also made in a variety of other flavors and colored stripes, and has long been a symbol associated with Christmas.

The candy cane dates back over 300 years and was originally a straight, hard, and all-white candy stick. Around the seventeenth century, Christians in Europe began to adopt the use of Christmas trees as part of their Christmas celebrations. They made special decorations for their trees from foods like cookies and sugar stick candy. The first historical reference to the familiar cane shape goes dates as far back as 1670 when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, bent the sugar sticks into canes to represent a shepherd's staff, then handed them out to children during nativity services. This custom of handing out candy canes during Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later to America.

The peppermint candy with red stripes first appeared in the mid-19th century in the Swedish town of Granna, and striped candy canes in the early 20th century. The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when August Imgard, a German immigrant, decorated the Christmas tree in his Ohio home with candy canes. It's not clear who came up with the idea of striping candy canes, but it's known that Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy canes, where Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes.

It's about that same time that candy makers began adding peppermint and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes, which grew to become traditional favorite flavors. 

In the 1950's a Catholic priest named Gregory Keller invented a machine to automate candy cane production. 

Caroling is one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, going back to the Middle Ages when beggars, seeking food, money, or drink, would wander the streets singing holiday songs.

Wandering minstrels traveled from hamlet to castle, performing carols. In later years, villages had their own bands of waits. They were originally watchmen who patrolled the city streets and sang out the time of night each hour. During the holiday season, they would entertain the townspeople with a Christmas song as well.  The term eventually evolved to describe a group of carolers or musicians who sang and performed at numerous locations throughout the city during the holiday season.

Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was a German native and brought the tradition of the Christmas tree with him when they married. Trafalgar Square is the home of one of the country's most popular Christmas trees, a large spruce tree which is placed near a statue of Lord Nelson. During World War II when King Haakon of Norway was forced into exile in England during the German occupation of Norway, the Norwegian troops would smuggle a tree past the Germans into England so the King would have a Christmas tree to celebrate the holiday.  Since then, Norway has sent a large Norwegian spruce tree each year as a thank you to the British people.

The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red or green robe, and leaves presents in stockings or pillowcases on Christmas Eve. However, the gifts are not usually opened until the following afternoon.

Another English tradition is called mummering. In the Middle Ages, people called mummers put on masks and acted out Christmas plays. These plays are still performed in towns and villages.

The day after Christmas in England is called Boxing Day. Boys would go around town collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.

Christmas preparations in Germany often begin on the eve of December 5th, the eve of St. Claus Day.  People often set aside special evenings for baking spiced cakes and cookies, and making gifts and decorations. Little dolls of fruit are traditional Christmas toys.

Children leave letters on their windowsills for Christkind; a winged figure dressed in white robes and a golden crown and is the Christ Child's messenger who delivers gifts.  Sometimes the letters are decorated with glue and sprinkled with sugar to make them sparkle. There is also a Christmas Eve figure called Weihnachtsmann or Christmas Man, he looks like Santa Claus and also brings gifts.

Germans make beautiful gingerbread houses and cookies. The German Christmas tree pastry, Christbaumgeback, is white dough that can be molded into shapes and baked for tree decorations.

Christmas trees are very popular in Germany. Some homes in Germany have several Christmas trees, and in all towns across Germany, they can be seen glittering and glowing.  Some homes also display advent wreaths, called Adventskranz. They are decorated with holly and have four candles in the center. Each Sunday a candle is lit and the last one is lit on Christmas Eve.  Children count the days until Christmas using an Advent calendar where they open one window each day and find a Christmas picture inside.

Some families lock up one room of their home before Christmas. When the children are awoken by their parents at midnight, they find the room filled with gifts and a decorated Christmas tree.

On the eve of January 6, German households inscribe the initials of the Three Kings Casper, Melchior and Balthazar, and the current year over their doorways to protect their homes.  Catholic boys and girls dress up as kings for Three Kings Day on January 6, and sing carols and collect money for donations to different projects and charities.

Mexico's main Christmas celebration is called La Posada, which is a religious procession that reenacts the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. During the procession, the celebrants go from house to house carrying the images of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter.

And though Santa Claus is not predominant, his bright red suit is represented in the traditional flower of the season. This flower is the poinsettia, which has brilliant green and red leafs on it. The legend of the poinsettia is really quite touching. It is believed that a young boy walking to the church to see the nativity scene showing the birth of Jesus had realized on the way that he had no gift to offer the Christ child. So, he gathered up some plain green branches and weeds to offer.  Many laughed as he walked into the church, but he was told that as long as his gift was from his heart, the child would appreciate it. When he laid his gift near the manger, they changed into bright red and green leafs, and thus the poinsettia, or Christmas flower, was born. 

The Mexican children receive gifts on Christmas day. They are blindfolded while they use a stick or a bat to try and break a decorated clay piñata that dangles and swings at the end of a rope. Once the piñata has been broken, the children scramble to recover the candy that was inside the piñata. Those children who have been good also on January 6th receive a gift from the Three Wise Men, the same men who visited the newborn Christ child and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Mexicans attend a midnight mass service which is called La Misa del Gallo or the rooster's mass, where they sing lullabies to Jesus.

The Festival of Lights, otherwise known as Hanukkah, is an eight day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev. This may be in December, late November, or, early January, though that is only a rare occurrence. The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival's eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.

Jews celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the Miracle of the Oil. According to the Talmud, which is a record of Jewish law and customs, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. But somehow quite miraculously the oil burned for eight day, which just so happened to be how long it took to press, prepare and consecrate newly made oil. 

The lights can be candles or oil lamps. Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special candelabra or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, called a Menorah. The reason for the Hanukkah lights is a reminder to those walking by the home of the holiday's miracle. Therefore the Menorah is displayed at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street.

Typically three blessings are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, but only recite the first two on the nights that follow. The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light or candle is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first and is lit first proceeding from left to right, and so on each night.

In Italy, the Christmas season celebration lasts for three weeks and starts eight days before Christmas. It's known as the Novena, and during this period, children go from house to house dressed as shepherds, reciting Christmas poems and singing.  In some parts actual shepherds bring musical instruments into the villages, play and sing Christmas songs. The children are given money to purchase presents.

A strict fast is observed the day before Christmas Eve, and is followed by a celebration meal known as cenone which is a traditional eel story. It may also include chocolate and a light Milanese cake called panettone or a Veronese cake called pandoro.

Presents and empty boxes are drawn from the Urn of Fate, which contains one gift for each person. By twilight, candles are lighted around the family's nativity crib called the Presepio. Nativity scenes are very popular in Italy and nearly every house has one. After prayers are recited, children read poems. At noon on Christmas Day the Pope gives his blessing to crowds gathered in the huge Vatican square.

In Italy the children wait until Epiphany, January 6, for their presents. According to tradition, the presents are delivered by a kind but ugly witch called Befana on a broomstick. Legend has it that though she was told by The Three Kings that the baby Jesus had been born, but she was busy and delayed visiting the baby. Therefore she missed seeing the Star of Bethlehem in the night sky and lost her way and has been flying around ever since, leaving gifts at each house that has children in case the child Jesus is there. She slides down chimneys like Santa and fills stockings and shoes with good things for good children leaves coal for children who are not so good.

Many of us can recall as children getting bundled up in our winter coats, warmest gloves and long, knitted scarves and touring our neighborhoods singing Christmas carols with family and friends. It's a tradition that's been around since the night Jesus was born. It's been said on that night, a choir of angels sang out in celebration.

A Christmas carol is a song or hymn whose lyrics are about Christmas or the winter season. They are traditionally sung in the period before and during Christmas. The tradition of Christmas carols hails back as far as the thirteenth century, although carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas.

Christmas carols and caroling in the old world was a mix of singing and dancing and was practiced for all festivals throughout the year.

When Christmas was firmly established to be celebrated on December 25, many of the existing songs were sung on that day and new ones written to celebrate Christmas.  

St. Francis of Assisi was instrumental in making the Christmas celebration one for the people instead of just for the clergy.

He created large nativity scenes outside of his church and translated many of the Christmas carols from Latin into languages spoken by the average person and encouraged them to sing these songs to express their joy during the Christmas season. This practice of singing Christmas songs outside of the church near the nativity scenes spread throughout Europe and it was a natural next step for these Christmas carolers to start walking through the neighborhoods around the churches sharing their festive songs. 

But why are they called carols instead of songs? A popular urban legend was that they were named after a little girl named Carol Poles who disappeared in 1888 in the Whitechaple district of London. According to the legend, the little girl was reported missing around Christmas and many people went searching for her at night. Due to fears concerning Jack the Ripper, the group would sing Christmas carols upon knocking in order to declare their good intentions.

And even in today's changing world, caroling is a Christmas tradition many people still hold dear.

In many Western cultures, holly is a traditional Christmas decoration, used especially in wreaths. Many of the hollies are highly decorative, and it's believed that it and the green ivy that is usually used alongside it in decorating is why the colors red and green have come to be representative of Christmas.

The pagan Druids are believed to have been the first to take holly to heart. They viewed holly as a sacred plant, designed to keep the earth beautiful even in the harshest of conditions. When they ventured into the forest to witness the priests cut their sacred mistletoe, they wore sprigs of holly in their hair.

Romans gave one another holly wreaths and carried them about, decorating images of Saturn with it during their Saturnalia festival. Centuries later, in December, while other Romans continued their pagan worship, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus. To avoid persecution from the Romans however, they decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly lost its pagan association, then becoming a symbol of Christmas.

In West England it is said sprigs of holly around a young girl's bed on Christmas Eve are suppose to keep away mischievous little goblins. In Germany, a piece that has been used in church decorations is regarded as a charm against lightning. In England, British farmers put sprigs of holly on their beehives. On the first Christmas, they believed, the bees hummed in honor of the Christ Child. Other beliefs included putting a sprig of holly on the bedpost to bring sweet dreams and making a tonic from holly to cure a cough, and to this day, families are still decking their halls with boughs of holly during the holiday season as a result.

Though mildly toxic to humans, holly berries are a very important food source for numerous species of birds, and also are eaten by other wild animals. After being frozen or frosted several times during the cold winter months, the berries soften and become edible. During winter storms, birds often take refuge in hollies, which provide shelter. Their spiny leaves also provide protection from predators.

Nearly every French home at Christmastime displays a Nativity scene which are called crèche, and is the centerpiece of the Christmas celebration. It's often decorated with small clay figurines called santons that represent little saints.  Santons are a tradition that's been handed down through the generations.  They are made by craftsmen in the south of France, and can be purchased during annual Christmas fairs.

The Sapin de Noël, or Christmas tree, is also an important Christmas centerpiece. It is found decorating homes, streets, shops, offices, and factories. It was introduced to France by a German princess called Hélène de Mecklembourg. She brought one to Paris after her marriage to the French heir to the throne, the Duke of Orléans. The idea of the Christmas tree came from Alsace in the 14th century. In those days, people decorated Christmas trees with apples, paper flowers, and ribbons. To the French, the Christmas tree symbolizes light and the movement of angels, the gifts of the orchards and fields, forests and sea. All of these gifts are topped off by the star atop the tree that points to Heaven. 

 
The French bake a traditional Yule cake in the shape of a log, called the Buche de Nol, meaning Christmas log.  It's served at the great seasonal feast called the Le Reveillon, a supper served following midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Depending on the region of France, the menu might include goose, turkey, or oysters.

 
French children receive gifts from Pere Noel who travels with his stern disciplinarian companion Pre Fouettard whose job it is to remind Pere Noel exactly who has behaved that year and who has not. In some parts of France Pere Noel brings small gifts on St. Nicholas Eve, December 6, and visits again on Christmas. In other places it is believed to be Le Petit Jesus, or baby Jesus, who brings the gifts. Adults generally wait until New Year's Day to exchange gifts.