24 of the oldest traditions in America that are still carried out today

• Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras, and Fourth of July traditions have been around for hundreds of years.
• Customs surrounding the presidency, such as the turkey pardoning, are also some of America’s oldest.
• The US also has some surprising practices, like placing pickle-shaped ornaments on Christmas trees.

Stringing lights around Christmas trees started in New York City in 1882.

Whether or not the president swears on the Bible, by taking the oath, they commit to upholding the Constitution and executing the role of the president lawfully.

Alaska’s Nenana Ice Classic has been a tradition since 1917. It involves guessing what day the ice on the Nenana River will break in spring.

The tradition was started by railroad engineers, who bet a total of $800 on when the ice on the Nenana River would break, down to the date, hour, and minute, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Today, the jackpot for guessing right is far higher — this year’s was about $145,000. The event had a record jackpot in 2014 of $363,627. 

Many universities also have long-standing traditions. Dartmouth’s Winter Carnival was first held in 1910 and continues to this day.

The carnival features events such as ski races, an ice sculpture contest, a polar bear swim, and a human dog sled race.

The World Series has been a tradition since 1903.

The first World Series was held between the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the American League’s Boston Americans, according to Baseball Almanac. Boston won five games to three in a best-of-nine series.

The first Army-Navy college football game was played in 1890.

Since then, there have been 10 times when the annual game wasn’t held, per the Army. The two teams have played 119 times, with Navy winning 60 games to Army’s 49.

The game between Harvard and Yale is even older.

On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard wore the first team uniforms in an American intercollegiate football game, per Connecticut History.

Cheerleaders performing alongside athletes is another American tradition — it was started by a male cheerleader in 1898.

On November 2, 1898, University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell led the first organized cheer at a football game between Minnesota and Princeton University, according to USA Cheer.

The Pledge of Allegiance has been widely recited in schools since 1892.

Francis Bellamy wrote the first version of the pledge in the late 19th century and began promoting it to schools as part of a marketing effort from the magazine Youth’s Companion, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

The words “under God,” weren’t added until the 1950s, when Congress launched an effort to distinguish itself from the atheism of the Soviet Union.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” has long been a mainstay at sporting events.

The first documented performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a sports game occurred in Brooklyn in 1862 at a baseball game, Time reported. The song was still about 70 years away from becoming the official national anthem of the US.

In 1918, it was performed before a World Series game during World War I, to much enthusiasm. As the century went on, the performance of the national anthem became an essential ritual at games.

The first state fair was held in 1841 in Syracuse, New York.

Roughly 10,000 to 15,000 people attended and enjoyed animal exhibits and other attractions, per New York State.

Texas can claim the most annual attendees of any state fair, which in 2022 drew more than 2.5 million people over a 24-day period.

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