In case you are wondering, "Do the Amish celebrate Christmas?" The answer to this question is "Yes, the Amish do celebrate Christmas".
They may not celebrate Christmas in the typical American fashion. But they still celebrate this holiday, remembering Jesus' birth.
Jump to:
Who Are the Amish?
The Amish are peculiar people (taken from KJV 1 Peter 2:9), and they believe that they need to be separate and different from the world. So they refuse to follow the world's standards and traditions.
Obviously, they are not different from the world in every single detail. They don't have any rules about the food they eat, the laundry soap they use, etc. And they are humans, just like the rest of us.
But they hold on to a lot of traditions, and if they find any verse in Scripture that would suggest something to be wrong, they have a rule against it.
Amish Christmas
There is a huge amount of variety in Amish circles, and I'm sure they do not all celebrate Christmas in the same way. So bear with me, I usually write from my own personal experience and from what I have witnessed in the Amish around me.
I grew up New Order Amish, with a lot of my extended family being Old Order Amish. So those are the two groups that I am the most familiar with. For many years, I didn't even know that stricter groups existed.
Amish Christmas Traditions
Every year before Christmas, my mom sent out stacks of Christmas cards to almost everyone we knew. And we received a lot of Christmas cards in return. They were all special and we always strung them up for a few weeks over Christmas (they were our decorations).
Every year, we went Christmas caroling. And we baked hundreds of Christmas cookies to put on plates and pass out to all of our neighbors.
There were always lots of fun activities over the Christmas season, and even as a child, it was my favorite time of year.
The Amish kids that attend the little one-room schools put on a program every year. They sing Christmas songs, recite poems, and sometimes put on a skit for the parents and whoever wants to come.
One day, the teacher gets someone to hitch up horses and a wagon to take the kids Christmas caroling to any older or sick folks in the neighborhood.
Christmas in Amish country is always a very exciting time!
My Family Christmas - How do Amish celebrate Christmas?
There was lots of anticipation in the air on Christmas morning. We got up early and did our chores as quickly as possible.
Everybody gathered around for a simple breakfast, which was followed by our daily family devotional time. Only on Christmas morning, our devotional time was even longer than normal. We sang lots of Christmas carols and read the entire Christmas story.
We kids got quite impatient for all of this to get finished so that we could get our presents. But my dad wanted to make sure that we understood what Christmas was about. It's about the birth of Jesus, not getting presents.
Amish Christmas Gifts
The Amish don't typically give a lot of presents, but they still enjoy giving gifts. So they usually give something useful and meaningful.
We always got a few nice gifts that we could use (such as a Bible, hymnbook, a good storybook, tools, dishes, etc.) I think the most expensive gift I ever got for Christmas was a new sewing machine.
And as the family grew we started exchanging names so that we would only have to get a gift for one person instead of so many. Although my parents always got something for each of us.
Traditional Amish Christmas Dinner
By the time we were finished opening gifts, it was time to start the noon meal. We had a big feast for Christmas lunch.
Typically, we had turkey roasht (turkey and stuffing - find the recipe here), mashed potatoes, a few sides along with Christmas Ribbon salad, and desserts including pecan pie.
(Turkey roasht and mashed potatoes were our main dishes for many holidays/special occasions. Also, check out my post with 52 Amish Christmas recipes.)
After lunch, we played games. My dad and brothers loved playing Monopoly, and this game usually lasted till well past time to get the evening chores started.
Christmas was always a very special day spent in quality time with family. Of course, there was nothing about Santa Claus or stockings. Christmas was all about Jesus, family, and good food.
Extended Family Christmas Dinner
We got together with extended family on Second Christmas (this was the day after Christmas), on New Year's Day, or on a Saturday somewhere around Christmas. (Some Amish celebrate Old Christmas on January 6 - our group did not.)
Everyone brought food, and we had another big feast. We all enjoyed visiting and catching up with each other again. Then we gathered around to sing Christmas carols, and my grandparents gave everyone a small gift.
The Amish put a lot of emphasis on family time. Gathering around the table and sharing a meal is a big part of their time together.
Amish Christmas Lights
The Amish do not put up Christmas lights. That would be too fancy.
In their mind, being fancy will cause you to have pride, and they focus a lot on being humble. So they try to avoid having things that would tempt them to become proud.
You will not find many Christmas decorations in an Amish home. We used to set out a few candles with some greenery that we brought in from our shrubs. And that was the extent of our Christmas decorating.
Amish Christmas Tree
The Amish do not put up a Christmas tree. For one, that would be too fancy. Secondly, they take the verses in Jeremiah 10:3&4 to be talking about the Christmas tree. So it is forbidden to decorate a tree for Christmas.
Christmas was kept simple, except for the food. We always had lots of good food with many different kinds of cookies and homemade chocolates. (Soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies Recipe here.)
Christmas was a time to give and show love to those around you (and that is what it should be).
AMAZON DISCLOSURE: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. If you click on a link to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
I'm sure that many of you remember the tragic incident that took place in Nickle Mines, PA, some years ago when a man walked into an Amish school and killed five young girls. I recently watched the movie on this story. It's heartbreaking. But I am adding a link to the book, in case you have not read this true story of tragedy and forgiveness.
Owen Greulich
The word "peculiar" has come to be used for things that are odd or strange. The original meaning was more like "special", or "unique". That is how it is used in the Bible.
Maureen
Just stumbled onto your site. Thank you for the information about Amish life, however I dislike the term “peculiar” to describe the Amish. They are not peculiar. They just like the plain and simple life with an emphasis on family, work and unworldliness. Perhaps that would be a better way to describe them.
Anna
I am sorry that my reference to the Amish as being peculiar has upset you. It was not meant to be used as a degrading phrase. But honestly, there's a verse in 1 Peter 2 that refers to God's people as being called out to be a peculiar people. The Amish take that verse to mean literally and believe they are called to be peculiar people (one of the reasons they think that they must be very different from the world). And that's why I use that term, because I grew up being told that God's children must be peculiar people. I think the verse in the Bible has a different connotation than what most of us today think of as peculiar.