
Over time, art has served as a means to preserve the experiences and rituals of each period's holiday traditions. People used various art forms to document their traditions, including costumes, folk songs, sculptures, and paintings. The holiday season is about connecting with your families, having joyful moments, and embracing your roots. Although these things haven’t changed, some decorations and traditions have developed. I find it fascinating to learn how art reflects the developments of cultures and the way they have preserved history. The two paintings that caught my attention focus on Christmas celebrations. As the world marks the holiday season, I came across two artworks that reflect the elements of the holiday.
The painting "Merry Christmas" by Viggo Johansen (1891) shows a happy family holding hands while circling the Christmas tree. The wooden floor and the smiling children illustrate the magic feeling that accompanied the holiday, and although this painting was created in the 19th century, we can feel as if it was made today.

In Salvador Dali’s 1948 “Santa with Drawers," the artist, known for his surrealist style, drew Santa Claus as a caricature figure, differentiating it from the traditional appearance. Dali painted the beloved Christmas character holding two drawers with a rabbit and a clock, which refers to his known artwork “The Persistence of Memory” (A work I admire). This entertaining image holds a variety of holiday features that we can recognize even today: red, green, and white colors, the snowy time of the year, and Santa’s shadow, which resembles the Christmas tree with the green leaf behind it. Dali made this poster for Hallmark, not realizing it would later become a beloved piece of holiday art.

Holiday-themed artworks act as cultural evidence of social traditions. Alongside their historical significance, these artworks reflect the artist's personal views and experiences. The elements the artist chose to include and those he decided not to include can also reflect traditions society has preserved over time and what has been left behind. Even when art is centered around a specific theme, I strongly believe it still symbolizes the creators’ beliefs and how they hoped to be remembered.