In the early 1800s, Christmas wasn't celebrated as elaborately as it is today. In fact, some early Americans avoided celebrating it altogether.

Here, Tomie dePaola imagines what it might have been like for a German family, with its rich Christmas traditions from "the old country", to move to a small New England town that shunned the holiday.

From making bayberry candles to handcrafting "hearts of man" and other decorations to cutting down a tree, "the Christmas family" joyously prepares for Christmas.

From the dust jacket